The International Monetary Fund's Middle East Technical Assistance Center (METAC) indicated that Lebanon received 11.5% of the center's overall allocation of technical assistance delivery to member countries during the first quarter of the fiscal year that ends in April 2021, or between May and July 2020. The center provided three technical assistance projects to Lebanon in the first quarter of the fiscal year, the highest number of projects allocated to member countries during the covered quarter, which consisted of two projects in public financial management and one in statistics.
 
In comparison, it provided two technical assistance projects to each of Algeria, Iraq, Libya, and Tunisia in the covered period, and one project to each of Afghanistan and Yemen. It indicated that there are 10 technical assistance projects planned for Lebanon in the fiscal year that ends in April 2021, the second highest number of such projects among member countries, behind only Egypt (12 projects).
 
In terms of public financial management, METAC co-organized with the Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan a workshop on the management of public-private partnerships (PPP). It indicated that the workshop aimed to develop the capacity of government officials to analyze and report PPP risks. It said that 20 participants from the Ministry of Finance, the Higher Council for Privatization and PPP (HCP), and Electricité du Liban attended the workshop.
 
In addition, METAC held three webinars on medium-term budget planning that 32 staff members from the Ministry of Finance and from six other ministries and agencies attended. It indicated that the workshop highlighted the importance of medium-term budget planning to strengthen the process to allocate and manage budget resources. It added that the workshop stressed on the importance of strengthening Lebanon's current medium-term fiscal framework to increase budget transparency. Further, the mission advised Lebanon to introduce and unify the use of costing parameters across government ministries and agencies, in order to improve the transparency and efficiency of budget costing.
 
In terms of statistics, METAC assisted the Central Administration for Statistics in addressing issues related to the continuity of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) amid the COVID-19 crisis. It helped compile the CPI for March, April and May 2020, draft a statement on the impact of COVID-19 on the computation of the CPI, and develop a forward-looking plan to ensure the continued and timely monthly release of CPI data.
 
In parallel, the center indicated that it has one project planned in Lebanon in the second quarter of FY2020/21, which extends from August to October 2020. It noted that the project is in public financial management on the drafting of a gender-based budget statement by the Ministry of Agriculture.
 
The IMF established METAC in Beirut in October 2004 to serve Afghanistan, Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. The center's mandate is to assist in capacity-building, facilitate the reform process in member countries, and support the region's integration in the world economy.