Second, the IMF assists countries in the design of appropriate macroeconomic and structural policy reforms, taking account of the lessons learned by other countries in addressing similar economic policy reforms. As the IMF, thus, seeks to strengthen recipient country ownership, its technical assistance program is based on the fundamental principle that to be effective and to have a high impact, it is important to ensure that a partner country is fully committed to owning the work associated with the assistance and implementing the recommendations flowing from the technical assistance. The IMF's Executive Board has emphasized the importance of further strengthening the country and regional focus of the IMF's technical assistance and training programs, and for planning and delivering such assistance within a multi-year integrated framework in close consultation with the recipient authorities and other donors. In response, a pilot program of comprehensive technical assistance assessments and consultations has been undertaken for selected countries in the context of the IMF's Article IV consultation process. Thus, on an experimental basis, there is a linking of technical assistance with surveillance.
Technical assistance is provided only when requested by a country's authorities.
However, given the ever-increasing demand for its technical assistanceand its limited resources, the IMF must prioritize its activities and its resources in this area among member countries and regions in the most efficient manner. Projects are prioritized by an interdepartmental committee of senior IMF staff, the Technical Assistance Committee, which also reviews member countries' experience with technical assistance. Technical assistance missions and expert assignments provide countries with advice and hands-on support to help resolve monetary, fiscal, and statistical problems that often lie at the heart of macroeconomic imbalances. Examples of the latter have been implemented in postconflict situations such as those in Angola, Cambodia, Lebanon, Namibia, Haiti, Rwanda, and Yemen. A similar approach is currently under way for China and Nigeria.