By Judith Ugwumadu | 12 June 2014

The International Monetary Fund’s Central American Centre is set to receive €6.3m from the European Union next month to help it support public finances in the region.

The IMF said yesterday that the money would be the first disbursement of a €7m EU pledge for Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic (CAPTAC-DR).

The funds will support the IMF’s capacity development in the region, which is focused on three core areas: public finances (tax and customs administration and public financial management); money and banking; and macroeconomic statistics.

The agreement, which was signed between the European Commission and the IMF in April 2014, will provide funds to guarantee technical assistance at the centre for the next five years.

Edgar Barquín, president of the Central Bank of Guatemala and president of the CAPTAC- DR steering committee, said: ‘On behalf of Guatemala and the other member countries of the centre, I thank the EU for its generous contribution that will allow CAPTAC-DR to continue providing valuable technical assistance and training.

‘I hope that this collaboration between the EU, the IMF, and the countries of Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic will continue to increase in order to strengthen the macroeconomic framework and foster stable and inclusive growth in the region.’

Fernando Delgado, CAPTAC-DR’s coordinator, added: ‘This contribution is crucial to maintaining the scale of operations of CAPTAC -DR, which has a proven track record in providing expertise and knowledge that will help strengthen institutions and policy implementation in member countries.’

Launched in 2009, CAPTAC-DR has a projected budget of $35m. By 2015 it will be supported with additional donations from Mexico, Luxembourg, the Inter-American Development Bank and the member countries of CAPTAC-DR: Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.