The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided to change its representative in Kiev from August 1, the fund reports.
„The International Monetary Fund has appointed Priscilla Tofano as its Permanent Representative to Ukraine in place of Vahram Stepanyan, effective August 1, 2024. Stepanyan is returning to the IMF headquarters after 3 years of work as a Permanent Representative,”, the document says .
The press release states that “changing representatives is standard practice to ensure staff rotation at the IMF”. It is specified that the new Permanent Representative Tofano is an Italian citizen and has been working at the IMF since 2013.
In March 2023, the IMF approved a four-year program for Ukraine in the amount of 15.6 billion USD. In order to receive funding, Kyiv must fulfill certain obligations - the so-called structural beacons. Funds from the IMF are received in separate tranches after an audit of the fulfillment of these conditions. Ukraine received the previous tranche of $2.2 billion in early July after the fourth review. In total, since February 2022, the fund has provided Kyiv with over $10 billion in budget support.
For the second year in a row, Ukraine is running a budget with a record deficit, expecting to cover most of that deficit with help from Western partners. In 2024, it will reach $43.9 billion.