Central Banking Technical Assistance to Countries in Transition

Under a Group Seven mandate, 23 central banks agreed to co-operate with the International Monetary Fund to provide intensive central banking assistance to the Baltic countries, Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, beginning in 1992. Under this agreement, the co-operating banks routinely release their professional staff to participate in technical assistance missions in central banking topics assigned to them. In April 1994, special joint meetings on central banking technical assistance were held in St Petersburg, which brought together for the first time representative as of co-operating central banks, the central banks of the Baltic Countries, Russia and other countries of the former Soviet union, and the major multilateral financial institutions. The statements which constitute the main body of this publication were prepared by particpants in advance of the meeting.