Ukraine expects to sign a new three-year loan program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December to replace the frozen stand-by agreement, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th September, 2019) Ukraine expects to sign a new three-year loan program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December to replace the frozen stand-by agreement, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said Monday.
An IMF delegation visited Ukraine from September 12-26 to discuss the Eastern European country's economy and prospects for a new loan program. Following the visit, the organization said that Ukraine had restored macroeconomic stability in the country but that GDP remained too low due to weak business activity. The new program is currently in the works and is expected to target Ukraine's fiscal policy on longer repayment conditions than those for standard programs.
"This is the beginning of talks that will continue on for at least another several of months, but we expect that the deal will be signed in December," Honcharuk said in a video message posted to Facebook.
The prime minister added that in the coming weeks several key Ukrainian ministers would visit the United States to continue the negotiations.
In December 2018, the IMF approved a $3.9 billion stand-by loan program for Ukraine for 14 months. Of this sum, $1.4 billion was transferred in December, and the remaining funds were to be allocated based on semiannual reviews. Initially, Kiev expected the next IMF tranche in May, but the fund postponed the transfer until after the new Ukrainian government was formed. The stand-by program was thus halted and the sides started negotiating a new agreement to replace the previous deal.
