IMF mission discussing new EFF arrangement in Kiev
MOSCOW. Nov 17 (Interfax) - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Gavin Gray started discussions with Ukrainian officials on Monday with regard to Ukraine's request for a new Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement, Ukrainian media said, citing IMF Resident Representative for Ukraine Priscilla Toffano.
The discussions will focus on goals of the government's economic course with emphasis on the taxation, budgetary and monetary policy to ensure stability amid the continuing extreme uncertainty, as well as on structural measures aimed at strengthening governance, combating corruption and supporting economic growth, Toffano said.
As reported, the four-year IMF EFF arrangement totaling $15.6 billion is currently in effect. It was approved in March 2023. The next, tenth disbursement of SDR1.117 billion ($1.6 billion at the current exchange rate) is scheduled for December.
Initially, the current arrangement envisaged that overall external funding of Ukraine with the participation of international partners would reach $115 billion in the baseline scenario and $140 billion in the negative scenario. As the crisis continued, the targets were increased to $153 billion and $165 billion, respectively.
In the course of the IMF mission's work in Kiev on September 3-10, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko, the head of the National Bank of Ukraine and the finance minister formally asked the IMF for a new arrangement, tentatively, for 2026-2029. The new arrangement needs to be considered, as the crisis drags on and the current EFF arrangement expires in March 2027.
Ukrainian Finance Sergei Marchenko estimated the Ukrainian budget's need for external financing in 2026 at $45.5 billion, alongside the need for overall foreign financing during the new four-year arrangement with the IMF at $150 billion to $170 billion. For now, unmet demand for external financing in 2026-2027 nears $60 billion, he said.
The new EFF arrangement per se is estimated at $8 billion.
