Today, on 24 October, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine Natalka Cmoc.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Olga Zykova, Deputy Minister of Finance for European Integration Yuriy Draganchuk and Government Commissioner for Public Debt Management Yuriy Butsa.

The parties discussed the current economic situation in Ukraine, the State Budget for 2024, cooperation between the two countries and the direction of frozen assets of the russian federation to Ukraine.

The Minister of Finance congratulated Natalie Cmoc on her new appointment and thanked the people and the Government of Canada for their solidarity and comprehensive assistance since the beginning of the large-scale war.

"Canada is one of the leaders in supporting Ukraine in all possible ways. I would like to thank the Government of Canada for its financial assistance, which has contributed to the stability of Ukraine's financial system in the context of a full-scale war. The total amount of funding from Canada since February 2022 is over USD 3.6 billion",  - added Sergii Marchenko.

In 2022, Ukraine received about USD 1.5 billion from Canada through the IMF's Administered Account, including about USD 367 million raised by the Government of Canada from the issue of five-year Ukraine Sovereignty Bond and a concessional loan of about USD 393 million. This year, the State Budget of Ukraine has received over USD 1.75 billion in concessional funds through the IMF's Administered Account.

In the context of discussing the State Budget, Sergii Marchenko stressed the importance of maintaining active cooperation with international partners to attract the necessary resources to finance social and humanitarian expenditures in the coming year.

"Ukraine finances the defence and security sector at its own expense. That is why we are counting on our partners to help us finance social and humanitarian expenditures. The budget deficit for 2024 is projected at around USD 43 billion", said Sergii Marchenko. 

The participants of the meeting also discussed possible mechanisms for directing the seized assets of russia to finance the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. 

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue a constructive dialogue to strengthen and expand cooperation.