The head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, said that she and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky agreed on Tuesday to explore ways to expand IMF support for the war-torn country and build a comprehensive financing program.
Georgieva told an event organized by the Center for Global Development that she and Zelensky agreed that an IMF mission would meet with Ukrainian authorities in the coming weeks to work on “a path of deeper engagement.”
She said the IMF is also working to get its board of directors to approve a proposal to extend emergency aid to Ukraine and other countries facing immediate balance-of-payments problems due to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The new “food shock window” in the IMF’s Rapid Financing Facility will provide Kiev with roughly the same amount of funding as the $1.4 billion it received in March, shortly after the Russian invasion, Georgieva said.
“First we discussed how we can help Ukraine immediately,” she said, adding that Ukraine’s needs have grown since the first disbursement of emergency funding. “Secondly, we discussed a longer-term engagement with Ukraine and how we can build a program that can benefit Ukraine more comprehensively,” she said.
“It’s an extension of the foundation’s full program.”
Georgieva said Zelensky also expressed interest in how the foundation could work with other institutions to provide political support to Ukraine and begin working on how it will transition to a healthy, sustainable future.
Alfred Kamer, director of the IMF’s European department, and his deputy, Julie Kozak, will meet with Ukrainian officials in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo this week, the IMF spokesman said.
“Great conversation with President @ZelenskyyUa,” Georgieva wrote on Twitter before the event began.
She said they discussed how the global lender could “continue to support Ukraine and agreed to explore ways to increase our financial and political engagement with (Ukraine) using all the tools available to us.”
In a separate message on Twitter, Zelensky said he had spoken with Georgieva and thanked her for “allocating $1.4 billion in additional support.” They discussed further cooperation to increase the financial stability of Ukraine.”
Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have been frustrated in recent months by what they see as slow progress toward a larger funding package.
The head of Ukraine’s central bank, Kyrylo Shevchenko, told Reuters in July that Kyiv is seeking $15-20 billion from the IMF over two to three years, an amount well above the fund’s “exceptional access limit” to lending.
Speaking through an interpreter, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said at a conference on Sunday that the IMF has so far been “very passive” in responding to Ukraine’s request.
According to him, the fund lent Ukraine 17 billion dollars after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, but this time it is delaying.
“Now we have a certain delay, but we have to speed up our cooperation and the response of the IMF, which is created to support countries that are in the difficult situation that we are in,” he said.
According to him, Ukraine closely cooperates with the USA, Germany and other partners, but the IMF is an important “unifying factor”.
“It is very important to have the IMF on board with their leadership and partnership,” he added.
