DFI participated as a resource person in the World Bank Debt Management Facility regional workshop on the Debt Management Performance Assessment tool, held jointly with the Centro de Estudios Monetarios Latino-Americanos in Mexico City. 31 participants from 14 countries participated in the workshop and DFI assisted Haiti to complete their own self-assessment and comment on the DeMPA tools. DFI has been asked to write an article about the workshop for the next DMF newsletter.

The UK Department for International Development has released two major Multilateral and Bilateral Aid Reviews in keeping with the shake up of Britain's aid programme. More information here. DFID also agreed to publish the evaluation of multilateral aid institutions provided by DFI, based on the HIPC Capacity Building Programme donor evaluation scores, which was submitted as input to the DfID Multilateral Aid Review. The report presents the assessments of 12 multilateral institutions by developing country aid officials, across a range of policy and procedural issues.

Mali successfully closed its first cycle of the FPC CBP in November 2010 with a high response rate of 72.8%. Results of the national survey on investor perception and foreign private capital have now been released in a comprehensive report featuring detailed data analysis and subsequent policy recommendations (in French only).

Building on their earlier work in evaluating multilateral aid organizations, DFI and the Global Economic Governance Programme of Oxford University have been contracted in partnership by the African Development Bank to conduct an independent review of its performance by its African clients, during March-October 2011. The review will involve extensive consultations with government policymakers and officials, parliamentarians, civil society organizations, private sector representatives and representatives of other African organizations which work with the AfDB, through workshops, interviews and surveys.

The second mission of the national capacity building programme in aid management, and audit and control is currently taking place in Conakry. After the first evaluation mission which reviewed the Guinean regulatory, legal, institutional and operational framework, two DFI consultants are now implementing the agreed schedule by launching a training programme for Ministry of Finance executives and public investment experts.

DFI participated in UNCTAD's Peer Review Meeting in Geneva on 1 February, to discuss sections of the World Investment Report 2011. It also presented synthesis findings at UNCTAD's Multi-Year Expert Meeting on Investment for Development during 2-4 February. The meeting was well attended by international experts, and a number of countries from the SSA and LAC regions. Discussions focussed on the nexus between public and private, domestic and foreign investment, looking at different types of capital flows, and the role of public investment in boosting growth, private investment, and industrial policy.

DFI continued to assist the Government of East Timor in building its debt management capacity, by launching the preparation of a debt management procedures manual which will assist government to organise all procedures and information flows. This will be finalised during a mission in Q1.

DRI participated in this workshop organized in Dakar, Senegal by Pôle-Dette and sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF. Participants familiarized themselves with the MTDS framework and were shown how to analyze the costs and risks and how to use the simulation software to support the elaboration of the MTDS.

DFI was funded by the Swiss Ministry for Economic Affairs to conduct this mission to Khartoum to assist the government with technical inputs for planning potential debt relief under the HIPC process, depending on various decisions relating to the treatment of debt in the discussions on secession by Southern Sudan. It also assisted the government to plan a 4-year programme for capacity-building to maximize its debt relief and ensure its debt remains sustainable after relief.

DFI was funded by the Heinrich Boell Foundation to attend this meeting of more than 100 global development CSOs, planning their engagement with the G8 and G20 for 2011, in order to analyse implications for cooperation between CSOs and low-income countries. For regular updates by the Foundation on the G20, click here.