On Saturday, Georgieva held talks on the new loan program with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I was pleased to note that IMF staff has reached agreement with the authorities on the policies to underpin a new 3-year, SDR 4 billion (about US$ 5.5 billion) arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility,” Georgieva said on late Saturday, as quoted by the IMF press service.
According to the IMF chief, the agreement is to be approved by the fund’s management and Executive Board.
“The President and I agreed that Ukraine’s economic success depends crucially on strengthening the rule of law, enhancing the integrity of the judiciary, and reducing the role of vested interests in the economy, and that it is paramount to safeguard the gains made in cleaning up the banking system and recover the large costs to the taxpayers from bank resolutions,” she added.
In 2018, the IMF approved a standby loan agreement of $3.9 billion for Ukraine, with an implementation period of 14 months.
The IMF later approved a standby loan agreement of $3.9 billion for Ukraine in December, of which $1.4 billion was issued immediately.
According to the 2018 agreement, the second tranche was supposed to be issued after a six-month period and following a review of the nation's economic stability. The IMF has, however, delayed the funding on several occasions and has brought up the possibility of negotiating a new credit program.
On 19 October, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oksana Markarova said the country still had a chance to receive the funds before the end of 2019.
