IMF and Ukraine reach staff level agreement on monitoring program

MOSCOW. Nov 24 (Interfax) - The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) mission and the Ukrainian authorities have reached a staff level agreement on Program Monitoring with Board Involvement (PMB).

"The agreement is subject to approval by IMF Management and an IMF Executive Board discussion is expected in the coming weeks. The PMB will help provide an anchor for macroeconomic policies and catalyze donor support," IMF mission head Gavin Gray was quoted as saying in the organization's press release following the mission's work in Ukraine on November 11-22.

Strong policy implementation would help pave the way towards a full-fledged IMF-supported program, Gray said.

Ukraine hopes to switch to the standard Extended Fund Facility program with the ability to support the budget and balance of payments in early 2023 after one or two reviews of the non-cash PMB.