IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Saturday said she met with Ukraine's former prime minister and now presidential hopeful Yulia Tymoshenko on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference and discussed anti-corruption reforms in the east European country, stressing the importance of macroeconomic reforms under the Stand-By Arrangement for economic aid
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2019) IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Saturday said she met with Ukraine's former prime minister and now presidential hopeful Yulia Tymoshenko on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference and discussed anti-corruption reforms in the east European country, stressing the importance of macroeconomic reforms under the Stand-By Arrangement for economic aid."Our conversation focused on recent economic developments in Ukraine and the need for continued implementation of the authorities' economic reform agenda ... including the anti-corruption framework. I highlighted the urgency for Ukraine to safeguard the gains made in restoring macroeconomic stability and to press ahead with the deeper structural reforms needed to achieve stronger economic growth and improve people's living standards in a sustainable manner," Lagarde said, as quited in a statement by the IMF press office.
The 14-month Stand-By Arrangement was signed last year and will provide $3.9 billion to Ukrainian authorities for execution of economic policies, and is expected to replace the previous IMF arrangement (Extended Fund Facility) that is coming to an end in March 2019. In December, the IMF Executive board approved a $3.9 billion stand-by program for Ukraine.
The IMF then announced that it would immediately provide Ukraine with a $1.4 billion tranche from the new loan package, and will make available the rest of the financial aid after semi-annuals reviews have been completed.
Kiev has previously been receiving loans as part of the IMF's $17.5-billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) assistance package. The loans, which are part of a four-year program aimed at reviving the Ukrainian economy, were approved by the IMF back in 2015. So far, Kiev has received four installments of aid totaling $8.7 billion.
