REUTERS
He says the positions of Ukraine and the IMF "match completely."
Newly appointed Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Danyliuk says that the current cooperation program between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – the US$3.9 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) – remains in place.
"There was a question: what is the status of the current stand-by arrangement? This program remains in place," he said following a meeting with representatives of an IMF mission in Kyiv.
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According to Danyliuk, it is important that now the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, and the Cabinet of Ministers, Ukraine's government, are both acting bodies, so they must fulfill their obligations under the current program of cooperation, first of all, to reinstate criminal responsibility for illegal enrichment.
"This is not only a condition from the IMF and the World Bank, it is a demand [voiced by] our citizens," he added.
Danyliuk noted the IMF and President Volodymyr Zelensky's team have the same vision of Ukraine's future development.
"We presented our agenda, how we see the development of the country, how we see our cooperation. Our positions match completely," he said.
According to him, the presidential team's first steps will be the fight against corruption, the launch of judicial reform, reformatting of the law enforcement system.
"Previously, the IMF almost imposed all this on Ukraine, which was reluctant. Now we feel the new government is willing to really introduce changes that are important to all Ukrainians – the elimination of corruption and the development of the economy," he said.
He noted that the IMF understands the decision on early parliamentary elections, which will also help to reshape the government.
As UNIAN reported, the IMF's Executive Board in December 2018 approved a new 14-month SBA worth US$3.9 billion. Ukraine has already received its first disbursement worth US$1.4 billion. Two other disbursements worth US$1.3 billion each were expected after the SBA review in May and November 2019.
The IMF mission arrived in Kyiv on May 21.