Austria, IMF renew agreement on Joint Vienna Institute

The Joint Vienna Institute (JVI) has been a hallmark of cooperation between the IMF and Austria for 30 years. On April 23th 2022,  Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Austrian Minister of Finance Magnus Brunner, Austrian National Bank Governor Robert Holzmann, and Austrian National Bank Vice Governor Gottfried Haber signed an agreement to continue the JVI for another four years.

“Our partnership in the JVI is a concrete statement about the importance that both Austria and the IMF place in capacity development, policy-oriented training, and building regional networks in emerging Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia,” IMF Managing Director Georgieva noted. “In the current challenging circumstances, building strong and resilient institutions, and investing in the policymakers of today and tomorrow has never been more important. The IMF is extremely grateful for Austria’s unwavering support to the JVI and all it delivers in the region.”

Finance Minister Brunner stressed that “strengthening the capacity of economic institutions contributes not only to more effective economic and financial policies but encourages the development of stable and sustainable economic conditions. Through JVI training of public sector officials, which is continuously adapted to the needs in the region, Austria is continuing its bridge building function.” Governor Holzmann added that “for 30 years, the JVI has promoted sound evidence-based policy-making in the region and fostered peer-to-peer exchange amongst central bankers and public officials. The current challenges make personal exchanges around key policy questions even more necessary.”

About JVI

The JVI is an independent international organization and is the oldest of a global network of IMF-affiliated regional capacity development centers. With the support of several international institutions and partners, the JVI provides policy-oriented training mostly to central bankers and public sector officials from countries in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, and Turkey. It has been helping these countries strengthen their economic institutions and policies and fosters regional cooperation and the development of networks of officials across the region.

Since its establishment in 1992, about 50,000 country officials have benefitted from JVI training and peer-to-peer exchanges focused on macroeconomic, fiscal, monetary, and financial sector policies. Among the JVI’s alumni are many current and former central bank governors, ministers, and other high-ranking officials from more than 30 countries.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the IMF and Austria calls for a review every four years, with a previous review taking place in 2018.

JVI training is typically delivered jointly with partner organizations, mainly Austria and the IMF as Primary Members, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and World Trade Organization (WTO); as well as the European Commission (EC), International Labor Organization (ILO), European Central Bank (ECB), and the central banks of France, Germany, Poland, the UK, and the USA.