Netherlands, Japan, Lithuania, Slovakia contribute first $14.5 mln to IMF's Ukraine Capacity Development

MOSCOW. Oct 16 (Interfax) - International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has announced the establishment of the Ukraine Capacity Development Fund (UCDF) for five-year technical budget assistance totaling $65 million, and the Netherlands, Japan, Lithuania and Slovakia have made the first contribution in the amount of $14.5 million.

"We're seeking $65 million over five years to scale up capacity development in priority areas supported under the IMF program. I am pleased to share that donors have already pledged contributions of about $14.5 million," Ukrainian media quoted Georgieva as saying after a ministerial roundtable on Ukraine hosted by the annual IMF/WB meeting in Marrakesh on Sunday.

It was noted that the Netherlands had contributed $7 million to the fund.

IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath, Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko, National Bank of Ukraine Chairman Andrei Pyshny and his deputy Sergei Nikolaichuk and representatives of the four said countries attended the fund launch ceremony on the sidelines of the IMF/WB meeting.

"These contributions will support the effort of the Ukrainian authorities to achieve macroeconomic stabilization and restore the economy, while implementing comprehensive reforms consistent with Ukraine's EU accession goals," the IMF said in a statement on the UCDF establishment.

Pyshny thanked the IMF for launching the new fund and underlined the importance of international financial assistance to Ukraine, the reform of the Ukrainian economy and the enhanced institutional capacity of the authorities.