Ukraine`s key creditor, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has confirmed that the meeting of its Executive Board on assessment of the economic situation in Ukraine and approval of the third revision of the reform program adopted in March 2015 will be held on March 20, according to its schedule of meetings posted on the IMF`s website.
The approval of the third revision also assumes the adoption of the decision on allocation of the fourth $1 billion loan tranche to Ukraine. If the decision is approved, the funds will be transferred to the accounts of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) by the end of next week. They are expected to replenish the NBU`s gold and foreign exchange reserves.
As UNIAN reported, in September 2016, after more than a year`s break, Ukraine has resumed cooperation with the IMF under the four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth $17.5 billion. Under this program, Ukraine has already received three loan tranches, totaling $7.62 billion. Ukraine expected to receive the fourth $1 billion tranche by the end of 2016, having fulfilled the key requirements, namely the adoption of the budget for 2017 and nationalization of the country`s largest bank, PrivatBank. However, the IMF Executive Board meeting on the Ukrainian issue and allocation of money was delayed several times.
In early March, Ukraine and the IMF agreed on an updated Memorandum of Cooperation. Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman noted then that the key recommendations of the International Monetary Fund to Ukraine would be the implementation of pension reform and the introduction of land turnover. Moreover, as part of the pension reform, Ukraine did not undertake to raise the retirement age. In addition, the memorandum does not contain the widely discussed obligations of the country`s authorities, providing minimum wage freeze for a period of three years and a ban on work for pensioners.
