The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will provide Ukraine with more than $2.7 billion “free of charge and without additional conditions,” according to the President’s Office of Ukraine website on Tuesday. The relevant decision was made by the IMF Board of Governors at the suggestion of IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to help restore the world economy affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In total, special drawing rights (SDR) in the amount of $650 billion will be allocated between the countries.
The IMF said in the official statement that this is the largest allocation of SDRs in the history of the fund. “The SDR allocation will benefit all members, address the long-term global need for reserves, build confidence, and foster the resilience and stability of the global economy. It will particularly help our most vulnerable countries struggling to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis,” Georgieva said.
Ukraine is expected to receive the tranche on August 23.
According to a statement on the presidential website, the decision was made after a telephone conversation between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Georgieva last week.
“This will be a good gift for our country on the 30th anniversary of independence. These funds will help overcome the consequences of coronavirus crisis and stimulate our economy. I am grateful to the IMF and personally Kristalina Georgieva for this decision,” the President of Ukraine said.
He also said that cooperation with the IMF is very important for Ukraine, so it continues to implement reforms and carry out structural beacons to receive a new tranche under the current stand-by arrangements. “We are working on completing the first revision of the current program of the International Monetary Fund and expect the IMF mission in September. I spoke about that during our telephone conversation with Ms. Kristalina Georgieva,” Zelensky said.
