Zelenskyi had a telephone conversation with IMF Managing Director: details
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi had a telephone conversation with Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
The press service of the Office of the President reports.
The head of the IMF inquired about the state of the Ukrainian President's health and wished him a speedy recovery.
The parties discussed the epidemic situation in the world and the uncertainty for the global economy because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The President stressed that Ukraine highly appreciates the all-round IMF support.
"I am grateful to you and the Fund's team for deciding to increase the first tranche of the stand-by program to $2.1 billion, which allowed us to go through this period and finance medical expenses, social programs, and financial commitments," Volodymyr Zelenskyi noted.
The head of state stated Ukraine didn't stop fulfilling its obligations under the stand-by program. Among other things, the reform of customs and tax service was approved; the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank are actively working to reduce the share of non-performing loans in the banking system.
"To date, all structural beacons provided for the revision of the IMF program have been completed," the President said.
He stressed that he consistently supports the National Bank's independence. The parties discussed the importance of adopting a balanced budget for 2021, and the risks of the Constitutional Court's recent decision to repeal some provisions of anti-corruption legislation.
"For me, to continue reforming anti-corruption bodies is one of the priorities. We took several urgent steps and decisions, including convening a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council; the government issued orders to ensure the functioning of the e-declarations register, and I proposed to parliament a draft law on resetting the entire Constitutional Court. Today there are no threats to NABU's activities. Our teams discussed the full return of e-declaration and noted the action plan and preparation of relevant draft laws," the President said.
The President noted that today, as never, all anti-corruption bodies, public organizations, diplomatic corps, and international partners have a common position to resolve the situation and fully restore the anti-corruption infrastructure. Volodymyr Zelenskyi also said that Ukraine had restarted the work of the Legal Reform Commission with the participation of international experts to develop comprehensive law drafts on judicial reform.
The President stressed that because of the fight against the coronavirus epidemic and the economic challenges associated with COVID-19, the first revision of the Fund's program and the mission launch would be an important signal for the national and foreign markets.
"Our teams have strong trust and are working closely to complete the negotiations and accept the IMF mission as soon as possible," he said.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva noted that Prime Minister's work with the Fund's team allowed to solidify relations between the parties at a high level and make excellent progress. She also noted the quick reaction and measures taken by the Ukrainian authorities after the CCU's decision and added that the Fund appreciated the cooperation of the NBU Chairperson Kyrylo Shevchenko with the IMF team.
