On April 5, Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko held a video conference with Anna Bjerde, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, within the framework of the IMF and World Bank Annual Spring Meetings.

The Minister of Finance together with the Vice President of the World Bank discussed plans for cooperation in the near future - preparation for the launch of five new joint projects. Funding for the COVID-19 Emergency Response and Vaccination in Ukraine, Ukraine Improving Higher Education for Results, Kyiv Urban Mobility, and Installing Hybrid Power Generation Systems in Ukrhydroenergo and additional financing of the project Access to long-term financing for Ukreximbank are planned to be submitted to the World Bank Board of Directors consideration in the near future.

"I am grateful to the World Bank for its efforts towards implementation of a number of critical projects and help in the fight against the coronavirus-inflicted crisis last year," emphasized Serhii Marchenko.

Presently, the drawdown within the portfolio of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), compared to other international financial organizations, is the largest - as of January 1, 2021, it amounted to $ 693.55 million, which is 2.3 times more than a year ago.

In addition, Serhii Marchenko discussed with Ms. Anna Bjerde the possibilities of increasing Ukraine's support in the fight against COVID-19 and new investment projects for the development of transport infrastructure in Ukraine.

"This year, the implementation of two of our joint road construction projects is coming to an end. That is why we would like to continue successful work in this direction and talk about preparing a new project for Ukravtodor," Serhiy Marchenko added.

Both sides spoke about Ukraine's progress in land reform and expressed hope for continued work with the IMF as soon as possible.

It was also noted that the current Ukraine Partnership Framework 2017-2021 of the World Bank expires in June 2021. This means that it is time to start a systematic diagnosis of the country to identify key priorities for the next four-year Partnership Framework.