Kyiv will receive another tranche of $400 million from the International Monetary Fund /IMF/ under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), approved in March 2023. This is stated in a statement by the fund's press service.
Thus, the total amount of payments under the IMF credit program will be about 10.1 billion. dollars.
“Sustained progress in reforms, progress in domestic revenue mobilization, and full and timely provision of external support over the duration of the loan program are necessary to ensure macroeconomic stability, restore fiscal and debt sustainability, and improve governance“, said the IMF, which approved a four-year program for Ukraine under the EFF mechanism with $15.5 billion in financing in 2023. The financial institution's experts expect that “the slowdown in the country's economic growth will continue in 2025”.
Thus, this year, according to their estimates, Ukraine's GDP growth will reach 2-3%, next year - 4.5%, and in 2027 - 4.8%. This year, unemployment is 11.6%, next year it will decrease to 10.2%, and in 2027 to 9.4%.
As IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva emphasized in connection with the board's decision, “the volume of Ukraine's external financing amounts to $148.8 billion in the base case and $162.9 billion in the negative scenario for the four-year period of the“ lending program.
She explained that the authorities in Kiev “continue to work on completing the debt restructuring strategy” and “are focused on reaching an agreement with the remaining holders” of debt.
“Achieving an agreement consistent with the program's debt sustainability objectives is essential to reduce fiscal risks and create space for critical spending,“ the IMF Managing Director stressed.
"Sustained progress in anti-corruption and governance reforms is needed. Additional efforts are needed, including appointing a new head of the Bureau for Economic Security, completing the audit of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, strengthening the system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and amending the Criminal Procedure Code," Georgieva concluded.