Abstract

This paper reports about the IMF and its activities, and particularly its technical assistance activities, the Japan Administered Account for Selected Fund Activities (JSA)—its objectives, size and scope, and use—with a focus on fiscal year 2002 and the scholarship programs. As the IMF seeks to meet its mandate, the demand on its technical assistance resources is expected to increase in a variety of areas, including helping countries to build capacity for their anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts; to adopt and adhere to international standards and codes for financial, fiscal, and statistical management; to help Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) design and manage debt reduction programs; and to help low-income countries formulate and implement poverty reduction strategies. The Japan-IMF Scholarship Program for Asia supports a 12-month course of graduate studies in Japan in macroeconomics or related fields for students from Asia and the Pacific and Central Asia, and is administered by the Regional Office in Tokyo.

1

Other bilateral donors include Australia, Canada. China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; multilateral donors include the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the UNDP, and the World Bank.

2

In this report, unless a distinction is made, use of the term “ISA” (Japan Administered Account for Selected Fund Activities) is meant to include the “JAA” (Japan Administered Technical Assistance Account), which was its predecessor administered account.

3

The reference to fiscal year (FY) in this report is to the IMF’s fiscal year, which runs from May 1 through April 30.

4

As of the end of the IMF’s FY2002.

5

These figures cover the period FY 1993-FY2002 only.

6

Multi-regional projects are those with beneficiaries from more than one region. See Annex I for descriptions of such projects.

7

Scholarship candidates from the following countries are targeted: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao P.D.R., Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and the Pacific Island countries. Nationals of other countries in the region are also considered on a case-by-case basis.

8

Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Mitolsubashi University, International University of lapan, and Yokohama National University.