Promoting currency convertibility, mainly as it relates to external current account transactions, has been at the heart of the IMF's mandate since its foundation. As financial markets have grown and become more globalized, the size and impact of capital movements have increased in importance. The seminar on convertibilty in the Middle East and North Africa focused on the benefits and conditions for adopting and sustaining convertibility. The papers published in this volume attest to the efforts that these countries are making and to the issues that they must confront in moving towards full convertibility.