Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Murilo Portugal and Head of Economic Cooperation and Development of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Ambassador Beatrice Maser Mallor have signed an agreement for a contribution of $10 million by Switzerland to the
MF's capacity building in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Following the signing, Mr. Portugal issued the following statement:

"The IMF is pleased that Switzerland has decided to contribute US$10 million to building capacity in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Switzerland is one of the largest and most important donors to the IMF's capacity building program. Our long standing partnership in the Central Asia region has been very successful. We believe that our strong partnership will create substantial synergies for both institutions and, most importantly, will deliver results for recipient countries."

"This initiative will focus on Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Macedonia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan all of them partner countries of SECO's development assistance and will assist these countries in building capacity in Public Finance Management, Revenue Policy and Administration, Macroeconomic Analysis and Management, Financial Market Development, Central Banking, Pension Systems, and Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism. The initiative expands on a successful arrangement for Central Asia."