What is the Asian Monetary Fund?
The Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1977 by countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America with the purpose of providing financial support to its members. The AMF seeks to promote economic cooperation among member states through pooling resources for development financing, promoting monetary stability, and encouraging international trade within the region. It also provides technical assistance for reform efforts that seek to improve macroeconomic management and foster growth-oriented policies in participating countries. As of 2019, there are 28 member states belonging to this institution.
What does it do?
The main goal of the AMF is to provide balance-of-payments support as well as policy advice aimed at fostering sound macroeconomic performance in its member countries while helping them achieve sustainable economic growth. As such, some of its key activities include:
• Establishing a common set of rules and regulations on how national currencies can be exchanged;
• Providing concessional loans or grants when necessary;
• Offering guidance on fiscal discipline;
• Working closely with other organizations like IMF & World Bank towards ensuring balanced global payments systems;
• Assisting developing economies with their transition into open market conditions;
• Supporting micro/small businesses across member nations through various programs targeting capacity building skillset enhancement etc.;
• Promoting regional integration initiatives between member states including free trade agreements (FTAs).
