REUTERS
The International Monetary Fund, Ukraine’s key creditor, approved the disbursement of a second $1.7 billion tranche to Ukraine.
“The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the first review of Ukraine’s Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The completion of this review enables the disbursement of… $1.7 billion, which would bring total disbursements under the arrangement to… $6.68 billion,” reads the IMF statement.
AS UNIAN reported earlier, last week, Ukraine signed a Letter of Intent following the first review of the IMF program under EFF arrangement and submitted it to IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. The Letter was signed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko and NBU Governor Valeria Gontareva.
On July 24, the press office of the Cabinet of Ministers, with reference to Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said that the Ukrainian government had fulfilled all preliminary criteria of the IMF and looked forward to a positive decision of the Board of Directors of the Fund on July 31 on the allocation of $1.7 billion of the second tranche to Ukraine.
The IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on July 29 that the Fund was ready to take a positive decision on the allocation of the second tranche under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
Ukraine is implementing a reform program agreed with the IMF, which provides for allocation of $17.5 billion in Ukraine under the new EFF during a four-year term. The first $5 billion tranche was received immediately after the approval of the program in March.
Earlier, Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko noted that the second tranche would be used for replenishing international reserves of the National Bank.
As expected, the second revision of the program with a view to possible granting of the third tranche will be carried out this fall in Kyiv, following an assessment mission. The mission's visit, according to the program of cooperation between Ukraine and the IMF is scheduled for September, 2015. The total amount that Ukraine may receive from the IMF just in 2015 is $ 10 billion.