Ukraine expects to conclude talks with IMF mission by end of week - NBU governor
MOSCOW. March 16 (Interfax) - Ukraine expects to conclude negotiations with an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission on a new fully-fledged financing program by the end of the week, Ukrainian media reported quoting National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Governor Andrei Pyshny.
"The NBU team has completed the entire program with which it started its participation in the IMF mission. We have managed to make substantial progress in our agreements and in coordinating our policies, and we look with optimism at the next few days during which online negotiations will be taking place and certain details will be agreed upon," Pyshny said at a press briefing on Thursday.
The IMF representatives "are supposed to fulfill part of their tasks in Washington, and the Ukrainian team will respectively be prepared for holding and continuing these consultations in an online format from Kiev," he said.
"We hope to finalize our work as early as this week, and believe in good news at the start of the next one," he said.
The IMF said on Wednesday that its mission led by Gavin Gray noted progress following political discussions on a possible new program with the Ukrainian authorities in Warsaw from March 8 to 15, although it suggested the discussions would have to be continued within the next few days.
It was reported earlier that due to IMF's unwillingness to immediately provide substantial financing to Ukraine last fall Kiev requested a four-month Program Monitoring with Board involvement (PMB), which the Fund approved on December 20.
The IMF mission completed its work in Warsaw on February 17 by announcing that the parties reached a Staff Level Agreement (SLA) on the first and final review under the PMB and transitioning to preparations for an Extended Fund Facility (EFF). This agreement, which is subject to IMF Management approval, paves the way for initiating discussions on a fully-fledged Fund-supported program.
Kiev hopes that the PMB will be replaced by a four-year EFF worth about $15 billion as early as at the beginning of Q2 2023, which could partially bridge the gap in covering the $38 billion 2023 budget deficit, currently ranging roughly between $5 billion and $10 billion.