Today, on May 23, the leadership of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine held a working meeting with the leadership of the IMF’s European Department and the IMF mission in Ukraine.
The delegation of the IMF included Director of the IMF’s European Department Alfred Kammer, IMF Mission Chief for Ukraine Gavin Gray, Deputy Mission Chief for Ukraine Sanaa Nadeem and IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine Vahram Stepanyan.
The meeting was attended by First Deputy Minister of Finance Denys Uliutin, Deputy Minister of Finance for European Integration Yuriy Draganchuk and Government Commissioner for Public Debt Management Yuriy Butsa.
In addition to budgetary issues, including the implementation of the 2024 budget and preparations for the 2025 budget process, and the further need for external financing, the parties discussed preparations for the fourth review of the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement.
The EFF Arrangement provides for USD 5.4 billion of budgetary assistance to Ukraine for 2024, of which about USD 880 million has already been disbursed as a result of the successful third review of the Arrangement in March 2024.
Denys Uliutin thanked the IMF for its timely support of Ukraine from the first days of the full-scale invasion and emphasized the importance of the EFF Arrangement’s further functioning:
“Ukraine’s compliance with the conditions under the EFF is crucial, as the implementation of certain measures and policies helps to maintain macro-financial stability and paves the way for the country’s European integration, while adapting the financial system to function in an unstable environment. Three more reviews are planned for 2024 under the EFF, which will potentially attract budget support totaling about USD 4.5 billion.”
Since the start of the IMF EFF, Ukraine has implemented 21 structural benchmarks, 14 of which relate to fiscal policy and the financial sector. In particular, they include legislative initiatives to improve the Budget Code, strengthen tax policy, and public debt management.
The total amount of the Extended Fund Facility for 2023-2027 is USD 15.6 billion. The EFF is part of the international support package for Ukraine, which currently amounts to about USD 122 billion.