IMFCEF

Target Audience: Junior to senior officials interested in understanding fiscal policy and its macroeconomic implications.

Qualifications: Participants are expected to have taken undergraduate courses in macroeconomics or have equivalent experience and have a basic background in microeconomics and econometrics. It is strongly recommended that applicants have completed the Financial Programming and Policies (FPP) course.

Language: The course is conducted in Arabic.

Course Description: The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic contraction it triggered is putting enormous pressures on public finances. The impact is compounded in oil-exporting countries due to a sharp decline in oil prices. The severity of the shock will likely result in a temporary large deterioration in the fiscal accounts and an increase in public debt levels.

Course Objectives: The course provides an overview of the fiscal policy tools that governments have used to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on households and firms and their potential implications on macroeconomic stability and sustainable long-term growth.  This hands-on course is built around the core macro-fiscal topics needed to assess the role of fiscal policy in macroeconomic management. The learning units include general empirical findings, Microsoft Excel-based workshops, case studies, and selected topics of regional interest.

Target Audience: Junior to mid-level officials from emerging markets and low-income countries interested in understanding and analyzing the conduct of monetary policy and its interaction with the rest of the economy.

Qualifications: Participants are expected to have an advanced degree in economics or equivalent experience and be comfortable using Microsoft Excel and Excel-based applications. This is an overview course. It is strongly recommended that applicants have completed a few general macroeconomic courses, such as Financial Programming and Policies (FPP) and Macroeconomic Diagnostic (MDS), face-to-face or online.

Language: The course is conducted in English only. Due to the technical nature of the course, English proficiency is a prerequisite. 

Course Description: This course gives a comprehensive overview of monetary policy regimes, monetary transmission mechanisms, and the role of monetary policy in macroeconomic stabilization. The course bridges the gap between theory, empirical evidence, and operational experience by illustrating the optimization problems and tradeoffs involved in monetary policy decisions. The learning process moves from lectures introducing the basic concepts to hands-on workshops. Case studies are used to reinforce participant understanding and to help them compare and assess a variety of experiences.

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:

• Analyze how monetary policy decisions are made under various regimes to deliver price stability;
• Identify how these decisions are transmitted to the real economy; and
• Evaluate how the economy and monetary policy respond to macroeconomic shocks under various monetary policy frameworks, demonstrated through a group presentation to their peers.
• Central bank practitioners should also be able to:
• Design a sound monetary policy framework; and
• Prescribe policies consistent with the framework chosen.

Target Audience: Government officials in line ministries or agencies in charge of Small Medium Enterprise (SME) and entrepreneurship policies, access to finance and private enterprise development policies.

Qualifications: Participants should be in charge of the design, implementation and evaluation of SME and access to finance policies.

Language: The course is conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic.

Course Description: The course is conducted by a team of OECD and international experts. The first part of the course focuses on SME policy aspects such as criteria for official SME definitions, initiatives to improve the business environment, monitoring and evaluation of policies, SME statistics, etc. The second part is devoted to access to finance, including access to credit and equity finance. The course also includes modules on innovative and high potential enterprises. It combines active discussions, the presentation of experiences from participants and practical exercises.

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:

• Gain knowledge on the different elements and institutional set-ups of SME policy;
• Analyze the importance of improving the regulatory and legal environment for access to finance and discuss specific mechanism to facilitate access to finance;
• Present the practices and experience of their own institutions and learn from peers; and
• Expand their professional networks.

Target Audience: Policymakers with an interest in learning how to improve policies, programs, and communications capabilities to become a digital economy. Participants will be public officials from the ICT and Education sector, as well as representatives from public universities and academic institutions overlooking Sciences Technology Engineering and Mathematics curriculum, strategy and investments. Private sector partners funding STEM or STI programs (sciences, technology, and innovation) as well as innovation/incubation centers should also be invited to participate.

Qualifications: Prior knowledge of education and / or technology (ICTs) is required, and an interest in reforming and modernizing public education systems and curriculum in MNA is encouraged.

Language: The course is conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic.

Course Description: The objective of this new “Digital Capabilities for Policy makers” course is to exchange knowledge on the World Bank’s insights on digital capabilities with policy makers in the MNA region client countries. The course will explore four main themes, in a three-hour interactive online format for each, from November 2 to 5, 2020:

• Digital leadership, Governance and Operating models
• Digital skills for a digital society
• Digital Culture and Mindset
• Disruptive new technologies for better decision making

Audience: This course targets Policy makers currently leading digital economy strategy, policies, or digital transformation projects in Ministries of Digital Economy, Information Communication Technologies, Telecoms/Data regulators; and Education. Qualifications of participants in the course include knowledge of the English language, leadership in shaping digital transformation strategies, connectivity, on-line service delivery; as well as COVID-19-related remote work/education policies.

We would highly appreciate your cooperation in nominating up to five officials from your country to participate in this course and encouraging them to send the nomination form by no later than October 15th to Ms. Hana Zugbar hzugbar@worldbank.org; and Mr. Joseph Ashraf El-Cassabgui jelcassabgui@worldbank.org.

Target Audience: Mid-level to senior officials working on financial supervision or financial stability in central banks or other supervisory authorities.

Qualifications: Participants are expected to have experience with stress testing, Basel regulations, and financial stability analysis.

Language: The course is conducted in English only. Due to the technical nature of the course, English proficiency is a prerequisite.

Course Description: This course, presented by the Monetary and Capital Markets Department (MCM), discusses recent developments in stress testing for banks, insurance companies and mutual funds. It gives participants the opportunity to learn and apply new tools used or created by MCM for purposes of stress testing and systemic risk analysis, also focusing on COVID-19 crisis. New, emerging topics in stress testing, such as feedback loops between real and financial sectors, asset fire-sales, climate change and fintech related risks are also covered. Some of the tools are integral to the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) and technical assistance missions. Moreover, the course allows participants to share their experiences on stress testing methodologies and financial stability analysis. Guest speakers from industry are also invited to discuss management concepts and stress testing methodologies relevant to Islamic Financial Institutions. The course reviews stress testing objectives, methodologies, techniques, and good practices. Much of the course consists of hands-on modules that expose participants to the entire stress testing cycle: from entering data and estimating macro-financial models to designing scenarios, selecting assumptions, running tests, integrating feedback loops between financial and real sectors, communicating the results, and incorporating them in policy decision making, for example, by informing the calibration of capital and liquidity buffers.

Throughout the course, the focus is on the scenario design, solvency and liquidity elements of the stress testing exercise and their interactions. The course concludes with a roundtable discussion where participants exchange knowledge and share country experiences.

Course Objectives: Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to:

• Identify main sources of financial stability risk;
• Summarize the principles for developing macro-financial stress scenarios;
• Link changes in macroeconomic and financial variables with financial results and measure their relative impact;
• Assess the resilience of individual entities and the financial system to solvency and liquidity stress; and
• Develop and incorporate models that are capturing second round effects or interactions between different risk types.

Target Audience: Junior to senior officials with some intermediate fiscal background who are interested in understanding and applying fiscal sustainability analyses and how they may relate to a country-specific environment.

Qualifications: Participants are expected to have a degree in economics or equivalent work experience and some familiarity with using spreadsheets.

Course Description: The sharp economic downturn and high fiscal deficits due to the COVID- 19 pandemic have exacerbated the debt build-up, witnessed during the last decade. The resulting debt burdens threaten fiscal sustainability and economic growth and stability.

This virtual course, presented by the Institute for Capacity Development, consists of a hands-on webinar series that discuss how to project the stock of public debt for a baseline (most likely) and alternative scenarios, and how to estimate the path of fiscal adjustments necessary to reach a pre-determined target level of debt. The course also discusses fiscal risks and fiscal crisis.

This course lays out the underpinnings of public debt dynamics (i.e., the evolution of public debt over time) and explains how these concepts are applied in the easy-to-use Excel-based Public Debt Dynamics Tool (DDT). Using projections of some 10 key macroeconomic and financial variables, the DDT provides public debt projections under a baseline and alternative scenarios, including through fan charts that describe uncertainty about the evolution of debt over time in a probabilistic manner. The DDT also identifies the main drivers of public debt changes, and computes measures of fiscal adjustments that are necessary to achieve a public debt target after a certain period, as specified by the user. At the end of the course, participants are expected to use the DDT to analyze public debt dynamics in the country they are working with.

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:

• Compute public debt dynamics and identifying the main drivers of changes in public debt.
• Compute paths of fiscal adjustments necessary to achieve a public debt target.
• Conduct a stress test to public debt dynamics, including using fan charts.
• Analyze fiscal risks
• Analyze fiscal crisis and fiscal adjustment.

Target Audience: Officials whose main responsibility is the compilation of ESS.

Qualifications: Participants are expected to have a degree in economics, statistics, or equivalent experience; and have at least intermediate knowledge of ESS concepts.

Language: The course is conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic.

Workshop Description: This virtual workshop, presented by the IMF Statistics Department, is intended to provide practical guidance on the collection, compilation, and dissemination of external sector statistics (ESS) during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provides practical guidance on the recording of COVID-19 related external financing and debt reorganization transactions in the balance of payments. The workshop is designed to serve as a platform for participating countries to exchange experiences in the compilation of ESS during the COVID-19 pandemic. The workshop consists of lectures, practical exercises, and discussion sessions.

Course Objectives:  Upon completion of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Describe the impact of COVID-19 on the compilation of ESS.
• Identify potential data sources and apply compilation techniques to address the data collection challenges during the pandemic.
• Gain practical experience on the recording of debt relief due to COVID-19 in ESS.
• Benefit from the experiences of other compilers.

Target Audience: Government officials in charge of policies for competitiveness, productivity, industrial development, infrastructure and investment promotion.Course Description:

Qualification: Participants should be involved in the development and implementation of policies and strategies for competitiveness at the national, sub-national or industry level.

Language: The course is conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic.

Course Description: The course is conducted by OECD staff and international experts in competitiveness and development policies. Competitiveness is a broad but useful concept encompassing a wide and interrelated set of elements and policies for economic growth, more and better jobs, and improving living standards. Increasing competitiveness requires an efficient and sustainable use of production factors including labour, capital, knowledge, and technology.

Course Objectives: The objective of this course is to discuss issues and share policies and instruments to promote competitiveness. The course builds on OECD work with the region, with OECD members and with emerging economies across the world. It also draws on other tools and analytical frameworks. The discussions will focus on deepening the understanding of the concept of competitiveness and how to address challenges through a mix of measures to improve business climates and targeted policies; this while considering the different characteristics of countries in the MENA region.

Target Audience: Government Officials from Arab and Middle East Countries.

Qualifications: The nominees should be middle to senior level officials that have a substantive interest or responsibilities in WTO matters.

Language: The course is conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic.

Workshop Description: The main objective of the Workshop is to enhance the understanding of the e-Commerce discussions at the WTO amongst capital-based officials in the Arab region who work on WTO matters. The Workshop will provide a general overview of recent developments with regard to the 1998 Work Programme on Electronic Commerce and ongoing

discussions/negotiations under the Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce.

Course Objectives:  Upon completion of this workshop, participants:

• Will have the background and history of the e-commerce discussions at the WTO, from the establishment of the Work programme on e-commerce in 1998 to the more recent developments in the e-commerce discussion.
• Will have an overview of the issues that Members have raised in relation to e-commerce. It will especially focus on the issues surrounding the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions and the different considerations regarding its extension.
• Will have a better understanding on the main issues identified under five broad areas: enabling e-commerce; openness and e-commerce; trust and e-commerce; cross cutting issues, including development, transparency and cooperation; telecommunications; and market access and customs duties on electronic transmissions.

Target Audience: This course is designed for senior level government officials from the health, education, social protection and labor market sectors who are engaged in the human capital project of the World Bank. In addition, representatives from the Ministries of Finance, Economy and Planning covering human development will benefit from this course. 

Qualifications: Participants will be senior level representatives from the relevant ministries and agencies engaged in the human capital project of the World Bank, who are playing a decision-making role in the design, implementation, oversight and/or evaluation of national policies, strategies and/or programs related to accelerating human capital formation in their respective countries.

Language: The course is conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic.

Course Description: Human Capital is being recognized as key driver of sustained economic growth.  Countries that aim at diversifying their economies, creating jobs, and achieving shared prosperity need to invest in their people.  This four-day course is designed to engage participants in understanding how human capital contributes to increased productivity and economic growth; learning from the global experiences on improving human capital; identifying the best practices and strategies for improving education and health outcomes as well as skills development, particularly for the youth; and learning about innovations to improve human capital using technology and behavioral insights. The impact of COVID-19 will be addressed as part of each of these topics.

The course will be delivered virtually and will be interactive and engaging participants on various topics.

For additional information concerning the content of the course, please address your inquiries to Dr. Sameh El-Saharty, Program Leader for Human Development, at: selsaharty@worldbank.org

Target Audience: Mid-level to senior officials in central banks and ministries of finance or economy who are directly involved in diagnosing the state of the macroeconomy and making projections.

Qualifications: Participants are expected to have an advanced degree in economics or equivalent experience, good quantitative skills, and proficiency in the use of Microsoft Excel. It is strongly recommended that applicants have completed the online Financial Programming and Policies, Part 1: Macroeconomic Accounts and Analysis (FPP.1x) or the online Macroeconomic Diagnostics (MDSx) course.

Language: The course is conducted in English only. Due to the technical nature of the course, English proficiency is a prerequisite.

Course Description: This course is designed to strengthen participants’ ability to comprehensively assess a country’s macroeconomic situation, including the current state of the economy; the stance of fiscal and monetary policy; financial stability; exchange rate misalignments; vulnerabilities in the different sectors; and the medium-term outlook, especially the sustainability of public and external debt.

The course emphasizes practical tools for use in day-to-day macroeconomic analysis and relies on case studies relevant to the region to illustrate how these tools are applied and how they can contribute to the policymaking process.

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:

• Analyze potential output, calculate output gaps, and diagnose the outlook for the economy;
• Assess the stance of current fiscal, monetary, exchange rate, and financial policies;
• Assess macro-financial linkages, including through the analysis of financial sector soundness indicators;
• Assess the medium-term prospects of the economy, especially the sustainability of public and external debt; and
• Identify possible external and internal economic risks and vulnerabilities to economic growth and identify policies to address them.

Target Audience: Mid-level to senior officials involved in economic and strategic planning; monitoring and evaluating policy strategies for reducing poverty and inequality; and promoting job creation.

Qualifications: Participants are expected to have a degree in economics or social sciences or equivalent experience. It is strongly recommended that applicants have taken the online Financial Development and Financial Inclusion (FDFIx) course.

Language: The course is conducted in Arabic.

Course Description: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread with over one million lives tragically lost so far. The devastation it caused requires governments and international community to redouble their efforts to create a fairer and more inclusive world. Investments in health, social safety net, digital infrastructure, green infrastructure and education can help achieve productive, inclusive, and sustainable growth. The course on inclusive growth is designed to increase participants’ understanding of the concepts of inclusive growth and give them analytical and operational tools to evaluate, measure, and monitor how macroeconomic policies can affect economic growth, poverty, inequality, and job creation. Lectures introduce the basic concepts of inclusive growth, with a special focus on long-term sustainability, and workshops offer participants an opportunity to apply the concepts and think about the design of inclusive and resilient growth strategies, drawing from country case studies.

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:

• Understand the links between growth, poverty and inequality
• Compute and Interpret measures of poverty and inequality
• Analyze the role of macroeconomic policies and access to markets in promoting growth, equality and reducing poverty
• Identify obstacles to inclusive growth and prioritize economic and institutional reforms
• Design an inclusive growth strategy for their own country

Target Audience: Government Officials from Arab and Middle East Countries.

Qualifications: The nominees should be middle to senior level officials that have a substantive interest or responsibilities in WTO matters.

Language: The course is conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic.

Workshop Description:

The WTO Regional Workshop on AGRICULTURE will offer specialized training to governmental officials involved in different aspects of trade in agriculture. This workshop will be tailored to the specific characteristics and needs of the region, covering inter alia the provisions of the Agreement on Agriculture; the work of the Committee on Agriculture, and the WTO agriculture negotiations. The Workshop will also address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural trade, and ongoing discussions on international trade in the context of the United Nations World Food Systems Summit of 2021.

Course Objectives:  Upon completion of this workshop, participants will have enhanced the understanding of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, the ongoing WTO agriculture negotiations, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on agricultural trade and ongoing discussions on international trade in the context of preparations for the United Nations World Food Systems Summit of 2021.