MEFMI conducts training on Balance of Payments and International Investment Position for the National Bank of Rwanda

The need for countries to produce timely and comprehensive external sector statistics (ESS) has become very important as the current global external environment remains uncertain amidst heightened trade tensions and tightening financial conditions.  This comes at a time when many countries in the MEFMI region are implementing adjustment measures and providing external buffers as the international oil prices and spillover effect from the Russia-Ukraine war are compounding the prevailing challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic by weighing down growth.  Rwanda is not immune to these global challenges.  The International Monetary Fund (IMF, 2022) estimates that Rwanda’s current account deficit will widen, which will worsen the Balance of Payments (BOP) and cause a decline in the country’s gross official reserves in the medium-term. Adding to these challenges are high staff turnover and continuous rotation of staff, which pose a threat to efforts and prospects of sustaining capacity in BOP divisions in the National Bank of Rwanda (NBR).

It is in this regard that the NBR requested MEFMI to train its staff to compile, report and analyse BOP and International Investment Position (IIP) statistics from 10 to 21 October 2022. The main objective of the training was to strengthen the reporting and analysis of BOP and IIP statistics for assessment of the external sector developments and vulnerabilities to inform policy formulation.

The training was facilitated by a team of two (2) resource persons, namely Dr. William Kavila, Accredited Fellow and Deputy Director at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe; and Mr. Tawanda Mubvuma, Chief Economist at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.  It is envisaged that participants will use the knowledge and skills gained from the training to improve the quality and reliability of ESS within NBR.

Prepared by Senei Molapo