Officials Trained in the Art of Financial Negotiations

A country’s negotiating capacity has a direct bearing on the terms, conditions and cost of its borrowing. With adequate preparation, appropriate negotiation skills and strategies, governments in the MEFMI region can extract the most beneficial terms possible from the financial agreements. However, governments in most developing countries, including those in the MEFMI region, face the challenge of ensuring an appropriate mix of skills to conduct effective negotiations.

To address this gap, MEFMI conducted an e-learning course on Financial Negotiation Skills and Techniques from 16 March to 24 April 2020. The on-line course, which was aimed at introducing participants to the fundamentals of financial negotiation, was taken by 29 participants from central banks and ministries of Finance and Planning in the MEFMI region. The course was designed to expose officials to key aspects of negotiating financial instruments so that they are better able to explore, develop, and implement strategies to conclude balanced agreements.

The course followed the MEFMI e-learning structure which comprises weekly modules, quizzes and a case study. Apart from introducing participants to the fundamentals of negotiating financial instruments, participants also prepared a debt negotiation strategy for a hypothetical country that is distressed by COVID-19 induced economic burden. This helped to consolidate and reinforce participants’ understanding of the concepts learnt and knowledge acquired during the course.

The course enhanced participants’ understanding of loan negotiation as reflected by the higher scores in the post-course test, relative to the pre-course assessment. The participation rate was also high despite the challenges of accessing the course materials while working remotely. It is expected that the participants will use the knowledge and skills gained to negotiate agreements which will have maximum development impact on their countries.

Drawing on the experiences and lessons of this course, MEFMI plans to roll out additional e-learning courses and webinars in macroeconomic, debt and financial sector management with a view to respond to the priorities of member countries in the wake of the Covid-19.

Prepared by Ms. Josephine Tito, Programme Manager in the Debt Management Programme