Report of the Eleventh Meeting of the CGIAR Finance Committee

Report of the eleventh meeting of the CGIAR Finance Committee, held in Cairo, Egypt on May 24 and 27, 1997 during the Mid Term meeting of the CGIAR. The Chairman, Michel Petit, presented the results of the meeting to the CGIAR at MTM97. The written version was circulated later, with the slides used in the presentation attached.The report covered the 1996, 1997, and 1998 financing plans, and the Committee's review of TAC's recommendations for 1998-2000 medium term plans. The Committee reviewed the draft CGIAR finance report for 1996, and commended it as a model for the future. It directed special attention to the problem of late payments by donors. The Committee allocated additional 1997 funds to ICRISAT, ILRI, and ICARDA and several systemwide programs which were underfunded, and completed the allocation of the World Bank contribution for 1997.The Committee approved TAC's recommendations for $400 million to finance center medium term plans for 1998-2000, but decided to explore a no growth scenario as well. It recommended a reduction to $335-$340 million from TAC's suggested $350 million for the 1998 planning figure. It decided that a substantial share of the World Bank contribution would be allocated on a matching basis.