IMF mission starts discussions on 1st review of monitoring program with Ukraine

MOSCOW. Feb 13 (Interfax) - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission started work on Monday under the first review of the Program Monitoring with Board Involvement, Ukrainian media reported with reference to IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine Vahram Stepanyan.

An IMF mission led by Gavin Gray is starting discussions with Ukrainian government representatives today to prepare a review of the Program Monitoring with Board Involvement, Stepanyan said.

"Ukraine is represented in the discussion by delegates from the Ukrainian Finance Ministry and the National Bank of Ukraine," the Finance Ministry said.

The NBU also said earlier that its delegation led by Governor Andrei Pyshny would be involved in negotiations with the IMF mission this week.

"The four-month Monitoring Program is based on macroeconomic parameters agreed upon with the IMF and determines the Ukrainian government's and the NBU's fiscal and monetary policy objectives to maintain economic stability," the Finance Ministry said.

As reported earlier, considering that the IMF was reluctant to disburse substantial funding immediately, Ukraine applied for a four-month Program Monitoring with Board Involvement, which the IMF approved on December 20.

Kiev expects that this program, which does not envision financing, will be followed eventually by an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) at the start of the second quarter of 2023, which could partially cover a $38-billion deficit of the 2023 budget amounting currently to about $10 billion.