The International Monetary Fund published on its website information about reaching an agreement with the Ukrainian authorities on the fifth review of the four-year Extended Fund Facility programme. As a result of the mission in Kyiv, Ukraine will have access to $1.1 billion.
The head of the IMF mission, Gavin Gray, noted that the government has met the criteria set by the Fund for the first half of the year. GDP grew by more than 6% in the first quarter, inflation remained relatively low, and international reserves were within adequate limits.
In general, the IMF forecasts that GDP growth will reach 3% in 2024, and in the next 12 months it will be in the range of 2.5-3.5%, as the mission expects the war to continue throughout 2025.
The Fund emphasises the need to formulate the state budget of Ukraine for the coming year, taking into account the need for savings and preserving the ability to service debts. According to experts, this requires increasing tax revenues - not only through permanent changes to the tax system, but also by fighting tax evasion and the shadow economy.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine and the IMF had agreed on the fifth review of the $15.6 billion EFF programme at the expert level. The state has fulfilled all quantitative criteria and structural benchmarks as of the end of June. Now the IMF Executive Board must approve the agreement. After that, Ukraine will be able to receive $1.1 billion.
Shmyhal noted that this was the first offline mission during the full-scale war.
"Our partners' funds help our Government finance all non-military budget expenditures. This allows us to direct our internal resources to the country's defence capability," the Prime Minister added.