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Ukraine has received $31B in international aid this year and hopes to receive more help. As Deputy Minister of Economy Denys Ulyutin stated at the regional economic forum, with these funds, Ukraine can finance basic needs, especially non-military, and in particular, the remuneration of civil servants working in the medical and educational spheres. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal announced that the steering committee's next meeting of the Multilateral Coordination Platform of Donors for Ukraine will be held on September 26. This is a platform dedicated to Ukraine's financial stability and recovery. The steering committee includes allies of Ukraine from the G7 countries and the EU. The Prime Minister said that the critical issues on the agenda will be:
● help with financing the budget deficit, particularly the need for $42B in support
● 2024's rapid recovery needs, amounting to $15B.
● the possibility of forming a single map of reforms, that is, bringing the requirements for obtaining financial assistance from various donors to a single instrument and reform plan for Ukraine, which the country will implement on its way to EU membership
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, proposed a new bilateral multi-year package within the framework of the European Peace Facility in the amount of up to EUR 5 billion for the next year.
Ukraine is preparing for the second revision of its program with the IMF.A review of the EFF program is expected in October, said the head of the Ministry of Finance, Serhii Marchenko, at the EBA Global Outlook meeting. According to the minister, it is necessary to demonstrate the implementation of agreements within the program's framework since the country's critical dependence on external financing and the trust of donors remains. Marchenko clarified that if the second revision of the decision on allocating the third tranche under the EFF program is successful, the IMF can decide as soon as in November. It will be recalled that the IMF approved the EFF program for Ukraine on March 31 of this year, allocating the first tranche of $2.7B in early April. The fund approved the second tranche under the EFF program at the end of June, and Ukraine received these funds at the beginning of July, approximately $800M. The program's planned schedule envisages the allocation to Ukraine of two more tranches, each of approximately $880M, in October of this year and at the end of February 2024, based on the results of reviews when Ukraine's fulfillment of its obligations is assessed.
The IMF and Ukraine are preparing for the next disbursement from the IMF. On September 25, The IMF announced the start of technical discussions with Ukrainian authorities on the allocation of the third tranche through their credit program. "Discussions will cover the latest economic developments of fiscal and budgetary, financial and structural measures in the context of preparations for the 2023 consultations under Article IV of the IMF Agreement and for the second review of the extended financing program," the IMF reported. Ukraine received the second tranche of $890M from the IMF at the end of June and the first tranche of $2.7B immediately after the approval of the program in early April. After the first review of the credit program, which resulted in allocating the second tranche, the IMF expanded the list of Ukraine's requirements. Initially, the terms of the new credit program contained 19 structural beacons, which Ukraine undertook to fulfill within the next 15 months. After the first review, their number increased to 23.
50 UKRAINE Country Report October 2023 www.intellinews.com