Switzerland becomes the first partner to contribute to the new six-year phase (2016–22) of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) fund for capacity development on natural resource wealth management, with a financial contribution of CHF7 million (US$7.1 million). The Managing Natural Resource Wealth Fund was launched in 2011 to help countries strengthen management of their natural resource wealth.

Ambassador Raymond Furrer, Head of Economic Cooperation and Development of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and Carla Grasso, IMF Deputy Managing Director, signed in Bern the letter of understanding for Switzerland’s financial contribution.

Over the last five years, this fund has contributed to significant improvements in a number of countries’ natural resource wealth management through technical assistance and training, analytical work, and diagnostic assessments. With an approximate budget of US$30 million for 2016–22, the new phase will deepen support and possibly expand country coverage, while maintaining its primary focus on resource-rich low- and middle income countries.

“I’m happy that Switzerland—as a key contributor to IMF capacity development—will add CHF7 million to support the Managing Natural Resource Wealth Fund’s next phase. This phase responds directly to international priorities on effectively mobilizing and managing public revenue, a particularly critical issue for resource-rich countries. We look forward to further deepening this partnership and boosting our capacity development efforts in the spirit of the Addis Tax Initiative and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to the benefit of our member countries,” said Grasso.

Mr. Furrer said: “Switzerland has a longstanding cooperation with the IMF for the delivery of capacity development in partner countries, with first activities going back to the 1990s. We are very pleased to build on the successes of the first phase of the Managing Natural Resource Wealth Fund and ramp up our efforts for the second phase. Continuing our contribution to this very important initiative allows us to support countries in managing their natural resource revenues in ways that promote economic stability and encourage sustainable and inclusive growth in these countries,” Furrer also said.