19 May 2004	Wednesday	28 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

BEIRUT, May 18: Finance ministers from the Arab world, Iran and Pakistan started on Tuesday a two-day conference here on fiscal policies in their regions.

The event, the first of its kind in the Arab world, was organized by the Lebanese ministry of finance and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The conference is also attended by representatives from the World Bank, the United Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The conference discussed "fiscal policies, their challenges and how they should be applied in the Arab world and the Near East, since Iran and Pakistan are also present".

"I believe Lebanon has important lessons to share with the region," said the IMF's deputy managing director Agustine Carstens. "A clear example is the VAT, which in just two years has reached tax efficiency levels rivalling those of industrial countries."

"Ultimately, fiscal reforms - indeed economic reforms in general - are important because of their role in bringing about higher growth, creating more jobs and improving standards of living," Carstens said.

Saleh Nsouli, deputy director of the Middle East and Central Asia department at the IMF, said: "Our key task is to work with the countries in the region on fostering macro-economic stability and promoting growth, with a view to improving living standards and reducing unemployment."

Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri revealed during the opening of the conference that Lebanon was planning for a third world donors' conference next year, after having completed reforms needed to put a "final end" to deficit and debt crises.

Mr Hariri noted the urgency of carrying out the long overdue reforms in order to hold a donors' conference in Paris in the second half of 2005, provided he stays in power after presidential and legislative elections. -dpa