MEDAI Subject Files

17563

1960-1992

series

textual records

75.5 linear feet of textual records

English

Oil, Oil Facility, Supplementary Financing Facility, Technical assistance to other organizations

John W. Gunter, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Arab Monetary Fund, Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, A. Shakour Shaalan, Paul Chabrier

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 contains general files maintained by the Middle Eastern Department Immediate Office regarding IMF and Department administration, policies, and operations; economic issues (until 1981); and international and regional organizations. Material consists of: Executive Board documents; office memoranda exchanged with the Managing Director, the Deputy Managing Director and other departments (Secretary's, Treasurer's, Research Department, Exchange and Trade Relations (until 1992), Fiscal Affairs); internal memoranda, draft papers, briefing papers and notes exchanged or prepared within or with the Immediate Office and MED Divisions; cables and letters exchanged with IMF Resident Representatives; and correspondence with member country officials, central banks, and international or regional organizations. Series is processed in successive chronological tranches. Within each tranche, files are organized alphabetically by subject. Generally, they cover the Department's overall responsibilities, activities and organization (Annual Meetings files; Meetings / Seminars / Speeches files; Managing Director files; Correspondence with MED staff; IMF Institute; Intra-Departmental Correspondence; Mission Schedules; MED Staff Papers; Technical Assistance; Weekly Forecasts); they contain also the Department's contributions to policy papers, and other IMF-wide reports, reviews or projections with respect to MED countries whether in the form of simple comments or annotations or full fledged contributions prepared in the Immediate Office or the Divisions (Consultation Procedures, Exchange Rate Systems, Exchange Rate Surveillance, Annual Report on Exchange Restrictions, Special Drawing Rights and World Economic Outlook). Of particular interest, however, are the files concerning the impact of the oil price increase in the 1970s, the establishment of the Fund Oil Facilities and the borrowing from oil surplus countries for the funding of the new Supplementary Financing Facility (Oil; Oil Facility, Oil prices, Oil Exporting Countries, Financing Needs; Supplementary Financing Facility; OPEC; OPEC Special Fund). Moreover, the series contains valuable material on the relations of the IMF with international and regional organizations, in particular with respect to the assistance provided by Middle Eastern Department staff in the establishment and organization of some of the new organizations in the region (Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development, AFESD; Council of Arab Economic Unity, CAEU; Arab Monetary Fund, AMF; Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, GCC). Files contained in Tranche 2 (1989-1992, Boxes 108-142) include also documents regarding Department's input in the setting up of new Monetary and Exchange Affairs and Policy and Development Review Departments (1992), documents regarding Department's close cooperation with the Arab Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank and Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as documents regarding the1990 -1991 Gulf Crisis and its impact on the economic performance of the region (Interim Committee, Development Committee, G-24, G-10 & G-7, Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director, External Relations)