MEDAI Country Files

16511

1946-1992

series

textual records

89 linear feet of textual records

English

Afghanistan, Islamic State of, Bahrain, Kingdom of, Egypt, Arab Republic of, Ethiopia, The Federal Democratic Republic of, Iran, Islamic Republic of, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, The Socialist People's, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Arab Republic, Yemen, Republic of, Yemen Arab Republic, Republic of Yemen, Algeria, Mauritania, Islamic Republic of, Somalia, Djibouti, Exchange rate policy surveillance, Use of Fund resources, Technical assistance

World Bank, United Nations Development Programme

Series is open according to the Policy on Access to the Fund's Archives. Material has been screened for any sensitive information or time restriction.

Series consists of the country correspondence maintained by the Middle Eastern Department Immediate Office since its establishment in 1953. It includes earlier files inherited from former Latin American, Middle Eastern and Far Eastern Department (1950-1953) as well as from the Research Department that held both functional and area responsibilities until the first reorganization of March 1950. Records reflect all aspects of Department's functions and activities in particular the monitoring of economic, financial and political developments in member countries and the conduct of consultation missions and other missions related to the use of Fund resources. Series was processed in successive chronological tranches. Tranche 1 (Boxes 1-137), 1946-1988) area countries include: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt (1946-1960; 1973-1986) / United Arab Republic (1961-1974), Ethiopia (until 1980), Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Pakistan, Yemen Arab Republic (since1962), People's Republic of South Yemen (1967-1970) / People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (since 1970), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey (until 1953), United Arab Emirates., Files are organized alphabetically according to country (and region) and chronologically within., There are also individual files regarding specific topics within each country (Membership; Quota; Stand-By arrangement; [Resident Representative] Letters; Consortium., Records consist of memoranda exchanged between the Middle Eastern Department Director and the Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director, other Department Heads and countries' Executive Directors; internal memoranda, correspondence and cables exchanged within the Department and with IMF Resident Representatives and other technical assistance experts assigned to countries; external memoranda, letters, telexes, and cables exchanged with country officials, central banks, the World Bank, United Nations agencies, and other international or regional organizations; draft and final Executive Board documents; minutes of meetings; briefing papers, briefings, and background notes, draft and final papers prepared by the Middle Eastern Department ; contributions or comments on documents prepared by other departments; documents issued by the World Bank and other international organizations; and printed material. The files contain also a large amount of economic, financial and fiscal data provided by the member countries., Most relevant are issues related to the use of gold and its role in the international monetary system; membership admission; the determination and review of country quotas; currency designation; country monetary policy; country exchange rate regime; the adoption of a par value and, after the collapse of a par value system, the surveillance exercised by the IMF on the exchange rate policies of its members; technical assistance provided by the IMF through staff missions or assignment of experts; the Consultation missions and discussions held under Articles XIV, VIII and IV of the IMF's Articles of Agreement; the use of resources under the Fund facilities and arrangements (Stand-By Arrangements,1952; Compensatory Financing Facility - CFF, 1963; Special Drawing Rights - SDRs, 1969; Extended Fund Facility - EFF, 1974; Oil Facility, 1974; Supplementary Financing Facility - SFF,1979; Structural Adjustment Facility - SAF, 1986; Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility - ESAF, 1987; Compensatory and Contingency Financing Facility - CCFF, 1988). Also, of special interest, is the vast number of documents regarding the Aid Consortium to Pakistan established in 1960 with the participation of the World Bank and other donors. Overall, country correspondence reflects a dynamic and cooperative work between the Middle Eastern Department, its Divisions, and the functional Departments, thus providing a significant source for the IMF's activities and approaches in member countries of the Middle East. Tranche 2 (Boxes 138 – 177, 1989-1992) area countries include the newly unified Republic of Yemen (1990) and six new countries transferred from the African Department (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Somalia, Djibouti, 1992). Mostly, Tranche 2 reflects the impact of the Gulf Crisis and other armed conflicts on the economy of Middle Eastern countries and the response of the Fund in the region in collaboration with the World Bank and UNDP (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Sudan). Files cover Fund's difficult negotiations with Sudan to resolve its economic problems and help the country fulfill its obligations. They contain also documents concerning the subsiding of Fund’s newer facilities (Saudi Arabia). Files contain many original annotations by Managing Director Michel Camdessus.