REUTERS
The Ukrainian government has not yet agreed on the text of the Memorandum, which shall be sent to the International Monetary Fund Headquarters in Washington to complete the procedure of the second revision of the reform program, approved in March 2015, according to the press service of the Finance Ministry.
"To date, the Memorandum on the second revision of the program with the IMF is not signed yet, due to an ongoing process of harmonization of the text of the document and fine-tuning of technical issues," the press service says, not elaborating on exact technical aspects in question.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance stressed that the meeting of the Board of Directors will be held after the approval and signing of the Memorandum. "Once the document is finalized and signed, there will be a meeting of the IMF Board of Directors. If the procedure is shortened, it will be two weeks after the signing of the Memorandum. According to the standard procedure, it is a month after the signing," the report says.
Read alsoUkraine risks losing IMF support over stalled reforms – LagardeAs reported earlier, the IMF on March 11 approved a four-year EFF worth $17.5 billion for Ukraine. The first tranche worth $5 billion under this program arrived in Ukraine on March 13. The second tranche worth $1.7 billion was transferred to Ukraine on August 4.
Read alsoIMF proposes new income taxation mechanism in UkraineThe second program review was conducted in two stages. The IMF mission was operating in Kyiv in September, and on October 2 the talks were suspended due to the local elections in the country, as well as ongoing discussions of the tax reform and the draft state budget for 2016. In November, negotiations between Ukraine and the IMF resumed.
At present, Ukraine and the IMF are agreeing a report on the progress of reforms implementation and the Memorandum on the second program review, while identifying further actions. It is noted that the two sides are discussing a wide range of issues within the framework of the second program review, which includes various aspects of monetary, banking and anti-corruption policies, the pension reform and the privatization process.
Read alsoVOA: IMF will delay aid to Ukraine until political fog clears – JareskoThe IMF Executive Directors will later make a decision on the disbursement of the third tranche to the tune of $1.7 billion. Ukraine hopes to receive the loan funds, which will unlock additional $2.3 billion in financial aid from Ukraine's creditors and $1 billion loan guarantee of the U.S. government.
At a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on January 21, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde expressed hope for a positive decision of the IMF Executive Directors on granting the next tranche for Ukraine.