16:47 21.05.2024

Ukraine meets all structural benchmarks before IMF mission expected late May for fourth EFF Arrangement review – Deputy Minister of Finance

2 min read
Ukraine meets all structural benchmarks before IMF mission expected late May for fourth EFF Arrangement review – Deputy Minister of Finance

Ukraine has fully met all structural benchmarks and other obligations under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose mission for the fourth review of the EFF is expected to begin work at the end of May in Warsaw, Deputy Finance Minister Olha Zykova told Interfax-Ukraine.

"All structural benchmarks have been met. After receiving positive news from the United States and having a clear understanding of the work plan with the European Union regarding the Ukraine Facility and the corresponding tranches, we can say that we are in the program and fulfilling our obligations," she said on the sidelines of the second Luxembourg-Ukraine Business Forum "Rapid Recovery of Ukraine," organized by the Luxembourg-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg on Tuesday.

Zykova said that during the mission's work, discussions will also focus on structural efforts to ensure that Ukraine remains within the framework of the program in the future and a work plan will be developed for the upcoming fifth review by the end of the year.

According to her, "there are no critical points."

"We need to understand that we have guarantees that the program will be fully continued by the partners until the end of the four-year period… (There is) a very simple but at the same time important link between the predictability and timeliness of external financing and the corresponding fiscal and monetary measures we take," the Deputy Finance Minister added.

She reminded that in the first months of this year, in the absence of financing from the EU and the United States, which was partially compensated by Japan and Norway, Ukraine managed almost entirely through internal measures: the tax on excess profits of banks and the early payment of dividends by the largest state-owned companies.

"These measures did not have a destructive impact on the economy, which is positive, but at the same time, they are measures that can be taken only once. And we would not like to take measures that would have a negative impact on the economy and the system as a whole," Zykova said.

According to her, Ukraine is conducting and will continue to conduct active negotiations with both the United States and the EU on the issue of mutually predictable fulfillment of commitments.

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