DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
The IMF’s Singapore Regional Training Institute (STI) was created in 1998 with a bold vision: by focusing on capacity building, Asia-Pacific countries could move out of the shadows of the Asian financial crisis a year earlier. At STI, a center of excellence and covering some 38 countries, policymakers have since then learned from each other and from global experience to chart a safe and prosperous path forward.
In line with its mission, since its establishment STI has trained more than 21,000 government officials from around the region in macroeconomic, fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policies, as well as financial sector, legal, and statistical topics. This extensive program has covered over 700 courses on core IMF macroeconomic and financial sector issues delivered in-person in Singapore and regionally, as well as virtually.
Lectures, workshops, and case studies are designed to bring knowledge to the region and disseminate experiences and success stories from Asia and the Pacific to the rest of the world. STI also provides tailored technical assistance in macroeconomic frameworks to individual countries’ finance ministries, central banks, and other government agencies.
Classroom training in core macroeconomic areas remains at the heart of STI’s activities, but the program has become more versatile. Responding to a rapidly changing world, STI is covering new topics including digital money/technology, the macroeconomics of climate change, and nowcasting.
Currently, in over 40 courses, seminars, and workshops in and outside Singapore, our lecturers discuss international best practice, encourage peer-to-peer learning, and review the latest economic policy research. Benefitting from experiences gained during the COVID-19 pandemic, STI will continue to leverage virtual and blended delivery, alongside in-class learning.
In these efforts, STI will stay true to its goal of tailoring programs to country needs in Asia and the Pacific. We will continue to draw on regional expertise and focus on knowledge sharing and collaboration with our training partners in the region.
We are grateful for the quarter-century of support and—in the year of the Dragon—are looking confidently into the future, hoping to welcome you soon in Singapore.
Paul Cashin
Director
IMF – Singapore Regional Training Institute
