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The government managed to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio, but Ukraine still needs further funding from international partners, the prime minister said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman says the major economic problem of Ukraine is the external debt exceeding US$65 billion, most of which was formed in 2007-2014.
"The greatest challenge, in economic terms, is the pressure of external debts, most of which were accumulated before 2014... In fact, from 2007 to 2010, the government took [on loan] $26 billion. However, Ukraine did not become stronger. Moreover, the government borrowed more than $20 billion in 2010-2014. In fact, the total debt today is over $65 billion lying on the shoulders of Ukrainians and the country's economy," Groysman said at a meeting with regional media in Kyiv on April 19.
According to the prime minister, the government managed to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio, but Ukraine still needs further funding from international partners.
"In the first quarter of 2018, the debt had been the lowest relative to GDP since 2011, which is an important signal. But if our program of cooperation [with IMF] is not fulfilled, for example, the creation of an anti-corruption court, etc., it will be difficult for us to meet the challenges," he stressed.
The official noted that Ukraine in 2018 would spend UAH 130 billion for the external debt servicing only, without taking into account its repayment.
"In fact, it is very important that we continue to work for the time being on temporary support from our international partners. This will allow us containing our debt burden on public finances and reduce it in the medium and long term," he added.
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Ukraine's state and government-guaranteed debt, estimated in U.S. dollars, rose by 7.5%, to $76.3 billion in 2017, while it grew by 11% in the hryvnia equivalent, to UAH 2.1 trillion, which is about 72% of GDP.
The payments of Ukraine on the state and government-guaranteed debt in the next twenty-eight years (from 2018 to 2045 inclusive) will amount to UAH 3.045 trillion.
Prime Minister Groysman earlier stated that Ukraine was not yet able to cope with the debt burden independently. Therefore, there is a need to continue cooperation with the IMF, Ukrainian PM believes The key requirements of the IMF in this regard include creation of an independent anti-corruption court consistent with the recommendations of the Venice Commission, as well as bringing gas prices to import parity and providing a mechanism for their automatic regulation, with a change in the price conjuncture.