For CCAMTAC member countries, in general CCAMTAC advisors focus on the following areas:
· Macroeconomic analysis: macro-frameworks, analysis, forecasting, and communications.
· Fiscal policy: public financial management, macro-fiscal issues, revenue administration.
· Monetary and financial sector: central bank operations and financial regulation and supervision.
· Macroeconomic statistics: national accounts, price, and government-finance and debt statistics.
Technical assistance (TA) is demand driven, taking into account priorities and available resources. Capacity development activities for Uzbekistan included:
Public Financial Management: Strengthening Fiscal Risks Management (July 19 - August 9, 2021)
CCAMTAC’s PFM advisor has participated in an IMF headquarters-led assignment to advise the authorities on the management of fiscal risks, with a focus on the fiscal risks of public-private partnerships (PPPs), SOEs, and loans and guarantees. Included in this assignment was training on the IMF's fiscal risks assessment tools, including the PPP Fiscal Risks Assessment Model (PFRAM), the SOE Health Check Tool, and the Discrete Guarantee and Loan Assessment Tool.
Real Sector Statistics: Price Statistics (July 12-16, 2021)
A remote CCAMTAC technical assistance mission assisted the SCS in updating and expanding the producer price index (PPI). The mission reviewed progress with developing the PPI in agriculture and construction and developed a detailed work plan to guide the authorities on the way forward.
Macroframeworks: Macroeconomic Frameworks (May 10-14, 2021)
As part of the ongoing project, a mission engaged virtually with a core interagency macro team from the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction (MoED), Ministry of Finance (MoF), and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU) to develop further the financial programming (FP2.0) Pillar I macroeconomic framework for economic projections and policy analysis. Discussions built on work done during and after the previous mission in March 2021. Various refinements and extensions were introduced to the evolving Pillar 1 macroeconomic framework. Another achievement related to progress in identifying data sources and dividing responsibilities for the macro framework related data gathering process across the participating institutions.
Macroframeworks (March 15-19, 2021; May 10-14, 2021)
Macroeconomic framework / financial programming (FP2.0). As part of the ongoing project, the TA mission and the interagency core macro team discussed several amendments and additions to the authorities’ macroframework to introduce more granularity, better take account of external developments, and refine projection methods. Benefiting from the virtual delivery, a wider group of staff followed the mission meetings. The core team aims at implementing discussed changes to the macroeconomic framework.
The virtual mission discussed progress made with incorporating changes proposed during the March 2021 mission in the Excel-based macroeconomic framework and projection tool and making it operational for forecasting and policy analysis. It also discussed how the macro team’s projections feed into the budget preparation process and how it will inform the authorities’ economic policy decisions more generally.
Public Financial Management (April 7-26, 2021)
An expert supported the annual budget preparation process. Building on significant progress in recent years to strengthen the PFM system, including expanded budget coverage, improved fiscal reporting, and enhanced accountability with the establishment of the State Budget Law, an expert supported the annual budget preparation process for the 2022 budget cycle and the preparation of the Fiscal Strategy Paper. The expert reviewed the budget instructions, that are being issued for the first time, in accordance with revised budget procedures and the new budget calendar. The expert also discussed the content and structure of the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
Real Sector Statistics (March 1-19, 2021, March 15-19, 2021, May 17-28, 2021)
Multi-topic. A remote multi-topic statistics diagnostic mission from the Statistics Department (STA) (i) assessed the collection, compilation, and dissemination practices for the datasets covered by the mission; (ii) identified key high-level priorities and developed a medium-term plan for statistical improvement and the associated capacity development (CD) needs; and (iii) developed a roadmap for subscription to the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). CCAMTAC will in the future help to follow-up.
Price Statistics. CCAMTAC assisted the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics (SCS) with the development of hybrid export and import price indices (XMPIs). The expert provided a strategic framework for developing hybrid XMPIs and made practical recommendations on the adaptation of survey sampling and price collection for XMPIs. The expert also reviewed the treatment of missing values, quality adjustment, and index number methodology.
National Accounts. CCAMTAC assisted the State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan in: i) developing discrete estimates of quarterly national accounts; and ii) improving GDP by expenditure estimates.
