IMF chief arrives in Kyiv on official visit — Reuters
15 January 09:15
The head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, arrived in Kyiv this morning, January 15, to hold a series of high-level talks.
This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Reuters.
The IMF managing director is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, and National Bank of Ukraine Governor Andriy Pyshnyy, as well as with business leaders.
The details of Georgieva’s visit to Ukraine were kept strictly confidential due to security concerns. The IMF chief last visited the country in February 2023.
Ukraine and the IMF reached a preliminary agreement in November on a four-year, $8.2 billion loan program, which is contingent on several actions, including the adoption of a budget and the support of donor financing commitments.
IMF officials say Ukraine has made progress and expect the board of directors to consider the issue within a few weeks.
Approval of the financing is critical as it will unlock additional external investment needed to address Ukraine’s fiscal gap, which the IMF estimates at around $136.5 billion for the period through 2029.
Georgieva will also review Ukraine’s progress in several areas, including the adoption of the 2026 budget, measures to increase domestic revenues by broadening the tax base, and securing large-scale external donor financing on terms similar to grants.
New IMF program
In announcing the new agreement, the IMF said that the Ukrainian authorities had also agreed to accelerate efforts to prevent tax evasion, in particular by taxing income earned through digital platforms, closing customs loopholes for imports, and abolishing VAT exemptions.
The IMF expects Ukraine to introduce some of these initiatives to parliament, but does not expect revenues to increase until 2027.
Ukraine reached an important milestone in closing its financing gap last month when EU leaders agreed to provide a €90 billion loan over two years. Ukraine must service the loan only if Russia pays reparations after the war ends.
It also completed a $2.6 billion debt restructuring linked to economic growth.
The new IMF program will replace the current four-year $15.5 billion program, of which about $10.6 billion has been disbursed. The new preliminary agreement assumes that the war will end this year, but includes a “negative scenario” in which the war will not end until 2028.
On November 26, it became known that Ukraine and the IMF had agreed on a new $8.2 billion loan program.
