Statement at the Conclusion of the IMF Mission to Ukraine
IMF News, May 26, 2017
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- Statement at the Conclusion of the IMF Mission to Ukraine
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- Published: May 26, 2017
Mission context and purpose
- An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Ron van Rooden, visited Kiev during May 16-26 to initiate discussions on the fourth review of the authorities’ economic reform program supported under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement (see Press Release No. 15/107).
- End-of-Mission press releases convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. This mission will not result in a Board discussion.
Near-term economic outlook and key macroeconomic indicators
- The Ukrainian economy continues to recover, with growth expected to exceed 2 percent in 2017.
- Fiscal and monetary policies remain on track to meet the 2017 targets.
- Gross international reserves have increased further to US$17.6 billion.
- Inflation is projected to fall below 10 percent by the end of the year.
- Assessment: While the near-term outlook is positive, decisive implementation of structural reforms remains critical to achieve stronger and sustainable growth that Ukraine needs over the medium-term.
Reform priorities discussed
- The mission held constructive discussions with the authorities on reforms needed to improve productivity, attract investment, and continue to strengthen public finances.
- Program discussions focused on:
- The pending pension reform.
- The pending land reform.
- Measures to speed up the privatization process.
- Measures to ensure concrete results in anticorruption efforts.
Implementation status and next steps
- While good progress has been made in building understandings on the key elements of these measures, further technical work is needed in some areas to transform these into draft laws that meet the reform objectives.
- Securing parliamentary approval of these draft laws will be needed to pave the way for the completion of the fourth review.
- IMF staff, in cooperation with other international partners, will remain closely engaged with the authorities in the coming weeks to advance the reform agenda.
Press Release No. 17/194 — Statement at the Conclusion of the IMF Mission to Ukraine