Arseniy Yatsenyuk: Government will hold final negotiations with parliamentary committees to facilitate fast approval of laws necessary to pursue reforms and to prolong cooperation with IMF

The Government of Ukraine will have on Sunday final negotiations with the relevant parliamentary committees and MPs to agree on technical aspects and to ensure prompt adoption on March 2 of the laws necessary for the reforms in the country and further cooperation with international lenders. Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced at a meeting of the Government of Ukraine on Saturday, February 28.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that step-by-step the Government is carrying out the reforms “much needed for the country, which are shaping the basis for economic stabilization and will create the basis for economic growth in 2016".

The Prime Minister informed that the Cabinet’s members had had meetings with all factions of the parliamentary coalition, to discuss the draft laws vital for the reforms, "Yesterday there was taking place quite a long meeting with the last faction, which is the largest by quantity - Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction”.

He noted that they had managed to speed up by one day the Parliament’s session to be summoned to consider the aforesaid bills – it had been scheduled for March 2, "But to accelerate the voting process within the walls of Parliament, tomorrow we will embark on final negotiations with the relevant committees and MPs who engage in tax, economic, customs sectors, the Budget Committee, so that by tomorrow night to coordinate all technical aspects and to vote fast and efficiently on Monday".

"This vote will be the implementation of previous measures, those agreed with the International Monetary Fund and with our external creditors," added the Prime Minister.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that reforms in Ukraine are needed not for the International Monetary Fund, "It is Ukraine that needs reforms and changes. The work that has been fulfilled by the Government and members of the Parliament, is to continue our annual collaboration with our foreign partners, which provides an opportunity for Ukraine to get at least certain additional resource to be directed to the development of the economy, maintaining the economic situation within the country at that level, it is today, and gradual, step by step reaching the economic stabilization".

The Head of Government stressed that the program with our western partners should add certain stabilization both in the economy and in the banking sector of Ukraine, "For us now the key challenge is stability of the banking system and stabilization of the exchange rate in the country. To achieve that, we as the Government are doing everything and helping the National Bank by using all those tools and measures, those in the arsenal of the Cabinet of Ministers, to reach stabilization of the currency exchange policy and facilitate the National Bank in performing its constitutional function”.