First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko met with IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath to discuss the recovery of Ukraine's energy sector, the use of frozen russian assets for Ukraine's recovery and ways to increase state budget revenues.

The meeting was part of a visit to the United States by a Ukrainian delegation headed by First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko. The delegation included Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov, Deputy Minister of Defence for European Integration Oleksandr Balanutsa, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Volodymyr Horbatiuk, Head of the Main Logistics Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Shevtsov, Deputy Heads of the Presidential Office Mykola Tochytskyi and Olena Kovalska, Advisor to the Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk and Advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office Dariia Zarivna.

"According to our estimates, russia's shelling of Ukraine's energy system has weakened the projected GDP growth this year by 0.7 percentage points. However, the Government is doing everything possible to quickly restore the lost capacity. We are grateful to the United States for its support on this path, in particular for the USD 824 million in financing for energy recovery announced during the URC in Berlin. During this visit to the United States, we also handed over a list of critical equipment to our partners in the U.S. Government that is needed to restore the energy sector," said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

One of the key topics of the meeting was the development of a mechanism for using frozen russian assets to restore our country. Yuliia Svyrydenko noted that Ukraine hopes for a quick decision, as it is a contribution to Ukraine's economic stability.

The participants also discussed ways to increase budget revenues and overcome the budget deficit.

The agenda also included labour market reform and the update of the Labour Law. Yuliia Svyrydenko expressed her hope for the IMF's technical support in this reform process.

"The human capital market remains in the focus of attention of both the Government and international partners. We are working on strengthening the capacity of employees, de-shadowing the market, and updating labour market reforms. We are grateful to the IMF for the technical support they have already provided and look forward to engaging the expertise of the International Monetary Fund to update labour legislation, which we are now actively working on together with business and civil society," added Yuliia Svyrydenko.

Ukraine also hopes for technical support from the IMF in the context of the public investment management reform. This will help to effectively implement investment projects, which in turn will contribute to economic stability.