The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will sign a deal with Ukraine on a $5 billion loan and unlock the first $1.9 billion tranche on June 5, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Friday
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th May, 2020) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will sign a deal with Ukraine on a $5 billion loan and unlock the first $1.9 billion tranche on June 5, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Friday.
Ukraine has long been in talks with the international creditor on a rescue package, which the IMF tied to land and banking reforms.
"We concluded negotiations with the IMF today and expect to sign a deal on the first tranche on June 5. It is an 18-month program for a five-year loan," Shmyhal told Svoboda Slova show.
The IMF will disburse $1.6 billion in fall and $1.5 billion next year under the Stand-By Arrangement, the minister said. The program is designed to provide short-term financing to struggling economies.
The press office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a phone conversation with IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva earlier on Friday.
Georgieva praised Ukraine's new law bolstering the bank resolution framework, according to Zelenskyy's office. The two agreed that the IMF loan would facilitate the allocation of financial aid during the coronavirus outbreak.
