MENA Countries Seeking To Improve Fiscal Transparency

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

18 March 2016

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Middle East Center for Economics and Finance and the Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center (METAC) organized a regional workshop on "Fiscal Reporting and Transparency" in Kuwait City, Kuwait, from March 13–16, 2016.

The workshop focused on the techniques and processes required for enhancing fiscal reporting and transparency among ministries of finance, the IMF said. It discussed the priorities for and approaches to improve the coverage, frequency, timeliness, and relevance of public fiscal reporting.

Participants shared experiences and challenges from their countries and discussed critical technical, institutional, and political risks that need to be addressed. The workshop was designed to establish a basis for continued knowledge sharing throughout the region, and to identify potential areas for future METAC technical assistance on fiscal reporting, fiscal transparency, and related topics.

The workshop was attended by 26 senior representatives of finance ministries from the Middle East and North Africa region, namely from: Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, and West Bank and Gaza.

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