A. M. 
The XII Meeting of the Grupo de Trabajo de Estadísticas de Finanzas Públicas (GTFP) will be held on october 28-30 to analyze the fiscal situation of Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic and promote the harmonization of public finance statistics. This hybrid event is organized by the Secretaría Ejecutiva del Consejo Monetario Centroamericano (SECMCA) and the Secretaría Ejecutiva del Consejo de Ministros de Hacienda o Finanzas de Centroamérica, Panamá y República Dominicana (SECOSEFIN), with the participation of representatives of central banks, ministries of finance and finance of the region.
During the meeting, a summary of achievements in the compilation and publication of public finance and debt statistics (EFP-EDSP) between 2018 and 2024 will be presented. The presentation seeks to highlight the progress in the collection of data that allows for a better understanding of the fiscal reality of each country and the region as a whole, a crucial step towards efficient and coordinated financial planning.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), through its statistics department, will conduct a comprehensive review of the public finance statistics manual in force since 2014. The purpose of this analysis is to update and strengthen the international standards applied, facilitating the harmonization of statistics in each country by incorporating technical inputs from regional experts.
In addition, it contemplates the presentation of practical exercises to show how finance and public debt statistics can be used in the creation of indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This approach aims to ensure that financial figures not only reflect the fiscal status of countries, but also serve to monitor their progress in terms of sustainable development.
The representatives of each country will also discuss the progress made in the implementation of the EFP-EDSP regional harmonization project, sharing experiences and challenges. They will also establish the goals and activities planned for the 2024-2026 period, so that fiscal and public debt policies respond to a homogeneous framework aligned with international standards.
This meeting will provide additional impetus to the preparation of the eighth edition of the regional report on public finance statistics, which is scheduled to be launched in november of this year. This report will provide a clear vision of the region’s fiscal situation and represents an important step towards financial transparency, which will be of great help to El Salvador and other countries in their efforts to strengthen fiscal sustainability and improve the quality of life of their inhabitants.
