IMF Event

Thursday, November 16, 2023
** Time shown below is in Japan Standard Time (UTC/GMT +9)

Opening Remarks

Antoinette Monsio Sayeh, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Speech

Before assuming her current role at the IMF, Antoinette Monsio Sayeh was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and Co‐Chair for the 19th Replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA19), the World Bank’s Fund for the poorest. She previously oversaw and significantly enhanced the International Monetary Fund’s engagement with its sub‐Saharan African members as Director of the African Department between July 2008 and August 2016.

As Minister of Finance in post‐conflict Liberia (January 2006 through June 2008), she led the country through the clearance of its long‐standing multilateral debt arrears, the HIPC Decision Point, the Paris Club, buy‐back of its commercial debt, and its first Poverty Reduction Strategy, significantly strengthening its public finances and championing public financial management reform. Before joining President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Cabinet, Ms. Sayeh worked for the World Bank for 17 years, including as Country Director for Benin, Niger, and Togo; Senior Country Economist for Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as an Advisor in the Bank’s Operations Policy Vice Presidency and as Assistant to its principal Managing Director. Before joining the Bank, Ms. Sayeh worked in economic advisory positions in Liberia’s Ministries of Finance and Planning.

Ms. Sayeh graduated with a bachelor’s degree with honors in economics from Swarthmore College and a PhD in International Economic Relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. While at CGD, Ms. Sayeh also served on the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College; Board of Directors of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development; and Board of Directors of Emerging Public Leaders.

Congratulatory Remarks

Masato Kanda, Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Japan (JMOF)
Speech

Masato Kanda is Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Japanese Ministry of Finance. Since he joined the ministry in 1987, he has held many senior positions, including Deputy Director General of the Budget Bureau (2017-2018), Deputy Vice-Minister for Policy Planning and Coordination (2019), and Director-General of the International Bureau (2020). He has previously held senior roles at the World Bank and OECD. He serves as Chairman for the Corporate Governance Committee, OECD (2016- ). He obtained his M.Phil in Economics from Oxford University in 1991 after his B.A in Law and Politics from the University of Tokyo in 1987.

Guest Speeches

Takehiko Nakao, Former President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Former Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, JMOF. Chairman of the Institute, Mizuho Research & Technologies Ltd.
Speech

Takehiko Nakao is currently the Chairman of the Institute at Mizuho Research & Technologies, Ltd. He teaches as Visiting Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) and University of Tokyo. From April 2013 to January 2020, he served as President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Mr. Nakao was the Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs between 2011 and 2013. Since he joined the Ministry of Finance in 1978, he worked for international finance, tax policy, budget, and banking. He also worked at IMF and Japanese Embassy in Washington DC. Nakao holds a BA degree in Economics from the University of Tokyo (1978) and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California-Berkeley (1982).

Vathana Dalaloy, Deputy Governor, Bank of the Lao P.D.R. (JISPA Alumna, 1995-96)
Speech

Vathana Dalaloy has been serving as the Deputy Governor of the Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL) since November 2014. Starting her career as an Economist at the BOL, she joined the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as an Operations Analyst in the Small and Medium Enterprise Department from 2000 to 2004. She held several key positions in the Securities and Exchange Commission Office, including Acting Secretary General and Vice President of the Securities Market Establishment Committee, as well as Deputy Director-General of the Monetary Policy Department, the BOL. Her extensive experience in monetary policy and banking, coupled with her profound understanding of the Lao financial system, greatly contribute to her role as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank. Born in Vientiane, she holds a Master’s degree in International Economics and Finance from Bradeis University, USA (1998-2000), and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Policy Science from the Graduate School of Policy Science (GSPS) at Saitama University (now the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies – GRIPS), Japan (1995-1996).

Redesigning JISPA’s Public Policy Studies to Meet Growing Needs of a Changing World

The panel will discuss how best to redesign public policy education and the scholarship curriculum to equip future policymakers with the knowledge needed to tackle transformative forces in a changing world, such as the digital revolution and climate change.

Moderator

Akihiko Yoshida, Director, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, IMF

Akihiko Yoshida is Director of the IMF Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific since December 1, 2022. He had a long and distinguished career in the Japanese government and served in key positions, including Deputy Vice Minister for International Affairs. He has an extensive experience in international economic policy issues and represented Japan in different capacities in international fora. From 2009-2013, he worked in the IMF as Advisor to the Director of Asia and the Pacific Department (APD), where he led missions to Pacific Island countries and was also responsible for drawing up capacity development strategies for the region. Born in Tokyo, he holds a LL.B. from the University of Tokyo (1992) and a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University (1996).

Panelists

Naoyuki Yoshino, Professor Emeritus of Keio University, Former Dean of Asian Development Bank Institute, Director of the Financial Research Center, Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan

Naoyuki Yoshino is Professor Emeritus at Keio University, Tokyo, Japan. From 2014 to 2020, he was Dean & CEO of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). He has served as Chairperson of the Japanese Ministry of Finance's Council on Foreign Exchange as well as its Fiscal System Council (Fiscal Investment and Loan Program Section).Additionally, he has been a Board Member of the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan, President of the Financial System Council of the Government of Japan. Johns Hopkins University (USA) was where he obtained his Ph.D. in economics, and he also received honorary doctorates from the University of Goteborg (Sweden) and Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (Germany). He is a member of the Economic Advisory Group (EAG) of the Republic of Palau in 2022-2024.

Kentaro Ogata, Deputy Director-General of the International Bureau, JMOF

Kentaro Ogata, Deputy Director-General of the International Bureau, also Chair of G7 Digital Payment Expert Group, assumed the current position in July 2023. As finance deputy’s deputy (acting), he oversees G7 and G20 matters. He worked twice at the IMF (Fiscal Affairs Department) from 2001 to 2005 and from 2010 to 2013, where he served as fiscal economist in country teams, participated in technical assistance missions. He has extensive experience in international tax issues, covering domestic legislations, bilateral tax treaties and multilateral discussions, particularly on OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project. He holds a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the University of Tokyo (1992) and an MBA from University of Maryland (1996)

Toshitaka Sekine, Professor, Graduate School of Economics and School of International and Public Policy, Hitotsubashi University

Toshitaka Sekine is Professor of Asian Public Policy Program at Hitotsubashi University. Prior to taking up the current position in 2020, he spent 33 years as an economist at the Bank of Japan as well as at the BIS and the IMF. At the Bank of Japan, he served as Director-General of Research and Statistics Department (a chief economist position of the Bank of Japan) for four years and Director-General of Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies for another year. His research includes inflation dynamics, exchange-rate pass-through, corporate investment and bank lending behavior. He received a BA from the University of Tokyo and a DPhil from the University of Oxford.

Caroline Waqabaca, Acting Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of Fiji (JISPA Alumna, 2006-07)

Caroline Waqabaca is the Chief Manager Financial System Development since January 1, 2023, and currently Acting Deputy Governor for the Bank. She has been with the Bank for over 30 years serving in various capacities including Manager Corporate Communications (2003-2006), Chief Economist (2010-2017), and Head of Financial Markets (2018-2022). From 2013-2015, she was seconded to the IMF as Advisor to the Executive Director in the SEAVG office. She is currently responsible for payment systems development, consumer protection and driving financial inclusion. She also serves on a few local boards. She is Fijian and holds a Master in Public Policy from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies – GRIPS (2007).

IMF-Japan Partnership in Capacity Development on Fiscal Topics  

The panel will discuss results of the long-standing IMF-Japan partnership on fiscal topics, drawing on lessons learned and new approaches to enhance coordination, efficiency and effectiveness of capacity development activities.

Moderator

Dominique Desruelle, Director, Institute for Capacity Development (ICD), IMF

Dominique Desruelle is the Director of the Institute for Capacity Development (ICD) at the IMF. In this capacity, he oversees governance and fundraising of the IMF's capacity development activities, the Fund's online training program for external participants, the internal economics training program for Fund staff, the Fund’s network of regional training centers, and ICD’s delivery of training and technical assistance to member countries on macroeconomic analysis and forecasting and related topics.

Discussants

Antoinette Monsio Sayeh, Deputy Managing Director, IMF

Before assuming her current role at the IMF, Antoinette Monsio Sayeh was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and Co‐Chair for the 19th Replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA19), the World Bank’s Fund for the poorest. She previously oversaw and significantly enhanced the International Monetary Fund’s engagement with its sub‐Saharan African members as Director of the African Department between July 2008 and August 2016.

As Minister of Finance in post‐conflict Liberia (January 2006 through June 2008), she led the country through the clearance of its long‐standing multilateral debt arrears, the HIPC Decision Point, the Paris Club, buy‐back of its commercial debt, and its first Poverty Reduction Strategy, significantly strengthening its public finances and championing public financial management reform. Before joining President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Cabinet, Ms. Sayeh worked for the World Bank for 17 years, including as Country Director for Benin, Niger, and Togo; Senior Country Economist for Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as an Advisor in the Bank’s Operations Policy Vice Presidency and as Assistant to its principal Managing Director. Before joining the Bank, Ms. Sayeh worked in economic advisory positions in Liberia’s Ministries of Finance and Planning.

Ms. Sayeh graduated with a bachelor’s degree with honors in economics from Swarthmore College and a PhD in International Economic Relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. While at CGD, Ms. Sayeh also served on the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College; Board of Directors of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development; and Board of Directors of Emerging Public Leaders.

Juan Toro, Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD), IMF

  Juan Toro is Deputy Director at the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD), in charge of: managing FAD budget; FAD relationship with development partners; overseeing governance and operations of FAD’s capacity development (CD), including by leading the new FAD CD Strategy 2023-27; coordinating FAD CD to Europe; and representing FAD in several interdepartmental working groups, notably those related to budget (internal and external resources), IMF CD, and IMF modernization projects (Big 5s); and coordinating the IMF interdepartmental working group on sustainable development goals. Before being appointed Deputy Director, he led the IMF CD in revenue administration. He has led and participated in IMF technical assistance missions in taxation in more than 40 countries and has authored and contributed to several analytical papers in taxation. Before joining the IMF in 2007, he was the Commissioner of the Chilean Tax Administration (Servicio de Impuestos Internos, SII) from 2002 to 2006, and held several managerial positions at the SII in previous years. In 2004, he received the Wharton-Infosys Business Transformation Award for leading the online tax administration model in Chile.

Fathuhulla Jameel, Commissioner General of Taxation, Maldives Inland Revenue Authority

Fathuhulla Jameel, FCCA, ACCA and BSc. (Hons) Applied Accounting is a qualified charted accountant with a wide range of experience in tax, auditing, accounting and risk management. Mr. Fathuhulla, with over 10 years experience in the public sector since 2003, was an integral part of the team that worked to introduce a tax system in Maldives, and led several education and awareness efforts on taxes since then. In 2016, Mr. Fathuhulla transitioned into the private sector until he took up the helm of MIRA in October 2019. As the current Commissioner General of Taxation of Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA), he has accomplished significant milestones in aligning the tax administration of the Maldives with international standards.

Daisaku Kihara, Director, International Organization Division, International Bureau, JMOF

Daisaku Kihara is Director of the International Organization Division, International Bureau, Japan’s Ministry of Finance since July 1, 2022. His Division is responsible for the IMF, G7, G20 and OECD issues. He has a long-standing carrier in international finance and economics at the Ministry, including Director for International Taxation, Deputy Director for Foreign Exchange Market Division and MDBs Division. He also served as Senior Advisor for Japan’s IMF Executive Director and worked at the IMF Asia Pacific Department (APD) as Mission Chief for Malaysia and Bangladesh. He holds a bachelor of Economics from the University of Tokyo and a Master in Business Administration from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester.

Masao Yahara, Senior Vice President, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Masao Yahara is Senior Vice President, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Before joining JICA, he was Head of Special Projects and Outreach Unit of the OECD s Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, where he was responsible for providing strategic direction to the Directorate s Global Relations Programs on financial and corporate sector development, in particular in non-OECD Asian economies. Prior to this, he served as Councilor to the President at Japan Foundation, an international cultural exchange agency. Previously, he spent 26 years working at the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Services Agency and the Cabinet Office, mainly engaged in financial market supervision and international affairs. His extensive experience in international fora also includes his work as Counsellor in financial affairs at the Permanent Delegation of Japan to the OECD (2012-15) and First Secretary in financial affairs at the Embassy of Japan in Russia (2004-06). 

Speakers

Batsaikhan Namkhai, Economic Advisor to the Governor, Bank of Mongolia (JISPA Alumnus, 2004-06)
Speech

Batsaikhan Namkhai is Economic Advisor to the Governor and a member of Board of Directors of the Bank of Mongolia. He is responsible for advisory services to the Governor related to the decision making in areas such as monetary policy, financial stability, and other central bank activities. He actively engage in the Board’s activity and relations related to stakeholders. He worked in different departments of the Bank of Mongolia which yielded 24 years of experience in the field of statistics and research, monetary policy, risk management, and banking regulation and supervision. Mr. Namkhai completed Master’s Degree Program in International Development from International University of Japan in 2006, and MBA from Mongolian National University in 1998, and Bachelor of Economics from Mongolian National University.

Behzod Saylixonovich Hamraev, Deputy Chairman, Central Bank of Uzbekistan (JISPA Alumnus, 2014-16)
Speech

Behzod Hamraev graduated from the National Graduate Institute of Policy Studies (GRIPS) in 2016 with a master’s degree in public policy while he was serving as Division Head of the Monetary Policy Department, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan (CBU). Before he was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the CBU in 2020, he served as Director of Monetary Policy Department from 2018. Currently he supervises the activities of the Department of Monetary Policy, Department of Statistics and Research, Department of Monetary Operations, Department of Financial Stability and Department of Public Relations and Communication Policy.

Antoinette Monsio Sayeh, Deputy Managing Director, IMF

Before assuming her current role at the IMF, Antoinette Monsio Sayeh was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD) and Co‐Chair for the 19th Replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA19), the World Bank’s Fund for the poorest. She previously oversaw and significantly enhanced the International Monetary Fund’s engagement with its sub‐Saharan African members as Director of the African Department between July 2008 and August 2016.

As Minister of Finance in post‐conflict Liberia (January 2006 through June 2008), she led the country through the clearance of its long‐standing multilateral debt arrears, the HIPC Decision Point, the Paris Club, buy‐back of its commercial debt, and its first Poverty Reduction Strategy, significantly strengthening its public finances and championing public financial management reform. Before joining President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s Cabinet, Ms. Sayeh worked for the World Bank for 17 years, including as Country Director for Benin, Niger, and Togo; Senior Country Economist for Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as an Advisor in the Bank’s Operations Policy Vice Presidency and as Assistant to its principal Managing Director. Before joining the Bank, Ms. Sayeh worked in economic advisory positions in Liberia’s Ministries of Finance and Planning.

Ms. Sayeh graduated with a bachelor’s degree with honors in economics from Swarthmore College and a PhD in International Economic Relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. While at CGD, Ms. Sayeh also served on the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College; Board of Directors of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development; and Board of Directors of Emerging Public Leaders.

H.E. Sok Sopheak, Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia (JISPA Alumnus, 1998-2000)
Speech

Since June 2016 and November 2018, H.E. Mr. Sok Sopheak has been nominated by the Royal Government of Cambodia as a Secretary and Secretary of State of the Ministry of Commerce. He has lead trade negotiation team under bilateral and regional frameworks and executed key trade reform agenda including the development of online business registration, and amendment of some laws and regulations etc.  The recently passed laws on amendment of law on Commercial Enterprise and amendment of law on Commercial Rules and Enterprise were the outcomes of his intensive lead at technical level.

H.E. Mr. SOK Sopheak holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the Faculty of Business in Cambodia in 1992, Master’s Degree in Economics and Finance from the School of Oriental for African Study of the University of London, UK in 1997 and Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Graduate School of Policy Science (GSPS) at Saitama University (the predecessor of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies - GRIPS), Japan in 2000.

Kentaro Ogata, Deputy Director-General of the International Bureau, JMOF

Kentaro Ogata, Deputy Director-General of the International Bureau, also Chair of G7 Digital Payment Expert Group, assumed the current position in July 2023. As finance deputy’s deputy (acting), he oversees G7 and G20 matters. He worked twice at the IMF (Fiscal Affairs Department) from 2001 to 2005 and from 2010 to 2013, where he served as fiscal economist in country teams, participated in technical assistance missions. He has extensive experience in international tax issues, covering domestic legislations, bilateral tax treaties and multilateral discussions, particularly on OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project. He holds a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the University of Tokyo (1992) and an MBA from University of Maryland (1996)