Minister of Finance of Ukraine discusses preparations for the third review of the IMF Extended Fund Facility program
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine's Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko met with the IMF mission to discuss preparations for the third review of the Extended Fund Facility for Ukraine.
Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko met with the leadership of the International Monetary Fund mission. They discussed preparations for the third review of the Extended Fund Facility program. The meeting was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Finance, UNN reported.
I am grateful to the IMF for its cooperation, which has resulted in the implementation of effective policies and the attraction of financing from the Fund and other donors. The IMF's expertise allows us to accelerate Ukraine's economic progress and to be resilient in the face of existing challenges to the financial system. The priorities of our cooperation remain unchanged - Ukraine's fulfillment of the conditions stipulated by the EFF program and mobilization of funds for the urgent needs of the state budget.
Detail
Preparations for the third review of the four-year program of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the financing of the 2024 budget were the main topics at this meeting.
According to the agency, the EFF program provides for $5.4 billion in budgetary assistance to Ukraine in 2024.
The next IMF mission in preparation for the third review of the EFF program will begin on February 17. The expert discussions will focus on Ukraine's compliance with the terms of the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies.
If the program is successfully revised, Ukraine will be able to receive the next tranche from the Fund in the amount of about USD 900 million.
During the meeting, the Minister of Finance emphasized that the further functioning of the IMF program is extremely important and that Ukraine is responsibly fulfilling the jointly agreed terms of cooperation.
The parties also discussed sources of financing for the state budget of Ukraine, including international assistance and the domestic debt market. The parties noted the existing assurances from partners for 2024, in particular from Japan, the United Kingdom, and Norway, as well as the important decision of EU leaders to launch a 4-year Ukraine Facility.
The Ministry of Finance noted that in addition to attracting external financing, they are looking for ways to increase domestic resources, reducing the state budget deficit. Developing the potential of Ukraine's financial system is one of the priority areas of cooperation between the Ukrainian authorities and IMF experts. In particular, the participants of the meeting discussed further measures to stimulate state budget revenues and the domestic debt market.
In 2023, the state budget's tax and customs revenues returned to pre-war levels, and the volume of domestic government bonds issued doubled compared to 2022. Although external financing continues to play an important role at this stage, it is crucial for us to continue to create conditions for the growth of domestic budget revenues.
It is noted that in 2023, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine attracted USD 4.5 billion from the IMF under the EFF, out of a total program of USD 15.6 billion. The current program is part of a package of international support for Ukraine, which currently amounts to about USD 122 billion.
