International Monetary Fund Says Ukraine Weeks Away From Fully-Fledged Support Program

CNBC’s Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, said Saturday that the International Monetary Fund is still weeks away from completing a full-fledged program to support Ukraine.

This is hours after the Friday, the IMF stated It was announced that the staff-level agreement reached with Ukrainian authorities had been approved, opening the way for negotiations on a loan program to support Kyiv’s economic growth and its bid to join European Union. Now, the plan needs to be approved by IMF management.

“Time is not Ukraine’s friend in these extraordinary conditions of war,” Georgieva spoke at the Munich Security Conference to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble.

“We talk about a number of weeks, not a very long period of time,” She added this when she was asked about the timeframe for implementing the program.

Georgieva stated that UN financial agency was positive that Ukraine will meet its financial policy, governance, and financial sector stability requirements.

“We have a country where institutions work. Where pensions are paid. Where social services are in place. Where the government is keenly interested to continue to reform, even when bombs are falling,” She made the observation.

This program is timely for Ukraine as it approaches the first anniversary since Russia invaded on February 24th. Even though Ukraine’s economy is expected to grow after a 30% contraction, the IMF estimates that it could need financial assistance in excess of $40Billion this year.

“Ukraine does need the IMF at this very critical time,” Georgieva said. “Why? Because financial needs are significant: We put them somewhere between $40-48 billion for this year.”

“And two, because the country does need the policy support that the IMF provides. To run a war economy is not a trivial matter,” She added.

Georgieva also stated that the reforms would help Ukraine’s economy in the midst of conflict. “accelerate” Ukraine’s attempts to join the EU.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution asking Ukraine to grant the candidate status to EU membership as soon as possible. 23, 2022. On the same day, the European Council granted the country the status of candidate accession to the EU.

“We make the desire of Ukraine to join the European Union a priority in our work,” Georgieva said Saturday.

“They belong there,” She added. “And the Fund, of course, can help them move faster on that road.”