New Regional Office to Strengthen IMF's Dialogue with Asia and the Pacific

• Pages: 239-241

Page 239

On September 1, the IMF will begin operations at its Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Tokyo. The IMF Survey spoke with Kunio Saito, Director of the Office and former head of the IMF's Southeast Asia and Pacific Department, about the opportunities the regional office presents for strengthening ties between the IMF and the Asian and Pacific region.

IMF SURVEY: What is the regional purview of the IMF's new office?

SAITO: Narrowly defined, it is the area covered by the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department-that is, all of what has traditionally been labeled East, Southeast, and South Asia, and the Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand and the Pacific islands. Depending on the issue, our office may go a bit beyond that.

The region offers an exceptionally interesting and diversified mix of countries. Our regional office covers some of the most populous economies-China and India-and the second largest economy in the world in terms of GNP-Japan. It also encompasses transition economies, such as Mongolia, Vietnam, and Laos. It covers some of the highest per capita income countries, like Japan and Singapore, but also includes some of the lowest, such as Bangladesh. We also have quite a few small island economies in the Pacific.

It's a region that presents many challenges. The important thing to remember is that the regional office has been created to facilitate the IMF's work with its member countries in Asia and the Pacific. The regional office will work closely with headquarters and the IMF's area and functional departments that work with these countries.

IMF SURVEY: Why is the IMF opening a regional office in Asia at this point?

SAITO: The answer lies in the significant, and growing, importance of the Asian and Pacific economies in the world economy. The IMF must be there as an active and constructive participant in the economic and social developments in the region. Over the past year, the IMF's management made two decisions with regard to Asia and the Pacific. It merged two separate area departments in the IMF into one Asia and Pacific Department and created a regional office to enhance the IMF's presence in the region.

IMF SURVEY: One of your office's responsibilities will be to strengthen contacts with other Asian and Pacific regional organizations. Which ones will you be working with and what will this entail?

SAITO: One of the regional office's chief responsibilities will be to facilitate the IMF's dialogue with policy-makers in the region through regional policy forums. The principal ones are APEC...