National Bank of Ukraine head to attend ad hoc meeting of European Central Bank's General Council

KYIV. April 25 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Head of the National Bank of Ukraine Kyrylo Shevchenko will attend for the first time an ad hoc meeting of the European Central Bank's General Council comprising central bank heads from 27 EU member states.

The National Bank of Ukraine said on social media that Shevchenko received an invitation from European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington DC.

"This step is important for our country's rapprochement with the European Union. This is our opportunity to join dialogue with the European Central Bank and other central banks of the European Union, to represent the stance of the National Bank of Ukraine and the interests of Ukraine, and to increase our involvement in the discussions conducted in the European network of central banks," the National Bank of Ukraine said in a statement.

Such meetings are quarterly, and the next one will be held in early May with the participation of the National Bank of Ukraine, the statement said. "Hopefully, the National Bank of Ukraine will be regularly attending ad hoc meetings in the context of our country's strategic course towards the entry into the European Union," it said.

A key objective pursued by the National Bank of Ukraine in this process is to harmonize Ukrainian banking regulations with the EU norms and standards in view with the eventual entry of the EU common market by the Ukrainian economy.

Sources of financing of Ukraine were an item on the agenda of Shevchenko's meetings with head of the National Bank of Belgium Pierre Wunsch, President of the Bank of the Netherlands Klaas Knot, Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania Gediminas Simkus, and Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste.