IMF mission starts talks with Ukraine on second EFF program report

MOSCOW. Sept 26 (Interfax) - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Gavin Gray began technical discussions with the Ukrainian authorities on Monday, Ukrainian media reported, citing the IMF's resident representative to the country, Vahram Stepanyan.

The talks will cover the latest economic developments and fiscal, financial and structural measures within the context of preparations for 2023 Article IV consultations and the second report of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, Stepanyan said.

The four-year EFF for Ukraine was approved on March 31, 2023 and the first tranche of $2.7 billion was released in early April. The program calls for the release of another three tranches of 664 billion SDR (about $914 million at current exchange rate) after IMF missions assess Ukraine's fulfilment of obligations as of the end of April, June and December. The country received the second tranche in July.

Given a positive conclusion from mission experts, a decision on releasing the third tranche is expected to be made in the second half of October or in November. However, Ukraine has still not met all the structural benchmarks of the program needed for the second report on its fulfillment.