New Delhi, Mar 12 (IANS): India and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday announced a new centre to be set up here for capacity building on fiscal and monetary policy space for six countries in the region.

"I am happy to announce a new partnership with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India and the IMF. We have agreed to set up the South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Centre," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

"The centre will provide training to government and public sector employees. It'll enhance their skills and improve the quality of their policy inputs. It will also provide technical assistance to governments and public institutions," Modi said at an economic conference on Asia.

"This will be for us the first fully integrated center and a model for the future capacity development work," said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. "I would like to warmly thank the government of India for offering to host the center, and for their substantial financial commitment."

According to the IMF, the center is fashioned as the focal point for planning, coordinating and implementing the its capacity development activities in the region on a range of areas such as macroeconomic, monetary and fiscal management, regulation and supervision.

It will also offer courses and seminars for policymakers and other government agencies.

The funding will come from contributions by regional member countries and development partners. The Australian Agency for International Development, the Republic of Korea and India have pledged financial support for the center.