Ukraine may launch new program with IMF in late 2019 – presidential administration

Deputy Head of Ukraine's Presidential Administration Oleksiy Honcharuk said this in an interview with the Novoye Vremya online newspaper.

In order to make Ukraine a predictable country for partners in which they trust, it is necessary "to fulfill the commitments undertaken, rather than build exotic scenarios," he said.

Honcharuk said that statements about default, the cancellation of PrivatBank's nationalization and uncertainty in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are increasing the cost of money for Ukraine.

"I understand that such statements to me as a citizen cost money. Each statement of this kind is seen by investors as an increase in risks, and they increase the cost of funds for Ukraine. And this means that we are getting a little poorer whenever such statements emerge in the press. And my task at the Presidential Administration is to make sure that Ukrainians do not get poorer," he said.

He said that cooperation with the IMF is very important to Ukraine.

"We have now really started thinking about a new program with the IMF for three or four years so that it could be launched at the end of the year if the required conditions are met. We will try to envisage [in the program] the structural reforms that will bring the country to a qualitatively different level during these years," Honcharuk said.

An IMF mission visited Ukraine on May 21-29. The decision on the allocation of the second tranche under the Stand-By Arrangement was not made. The head of the mission, Ron van Roden, said that the IMF had held fruitful discussions with the Ukrainian authorities.

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