Lithuania allocates EUR 1.5 million to support reforms in Ukraine
Today, Lithuania’s contribution to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Ukraine, which is intended to provide expert assistance to the country’s institutions in implementing the necessary reforms, was approved at the meeting of the Government, thus ensuring their effective and timely implementation.
Following the IMF’s approval of a 48-month extended arrangement for Ukraine under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with an amount of USD 15.6 billion in March 2023, the need for capacity building of the country’s institutions, i.e. technical assistance, has become particularly relevant for the proper and timely implementation of the obligations and reforms undertaken within the framework of the IMF programme and access to the planned financing.
“In order to ensure continuity of support to Ukraine and effective implementation of the Fund’s programme, Lithuania allocates funds that will contribute to the strengthening of the country’s institutional capacity. We support Ukraine’s reform agenda, which is crucial as the country grows stronger and is moving closer to integration into the European Union. I believe that the expertise and assistance of the IMF experts will help the Ukrainian authorities to fulfil their obligations in important areas such as tax and public finance management policy and the fight against corruption”, says Minister of Finance Ginatrė Skaistė.
At the time of the approval of the IMF programme for Ukraine, in order to fulfil the prerequisites, Lithuania together with international partners (Canada, Italy, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Slovakia) contributed to the activation of the programme by providing political-level financial assurances confirming the commitment of the group of countries to further support Ukraine and the capacity of the Ukrainian institutions to service all of their obligations to the IMF.
Technical support will be provided in the IMF’s main areas of competence, which include fiscal, monetary, financial sector policy, public finance management, legislative, anti-corruption, statistics, etc. Technical support will be provided by experts selected according to the highest global standards. The agreement with the IMF on Lithuania’s support is planned to be signed during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in October this year.
The IMF programme, whose design focuses on supporting the country’s economy, strengthening macroeconomic and financial stability and implementing long-term structural reforms in Ukraine, is cornerstone in meeting Ukraine’s financing needs. The programme is built on a two-phased approach. In the first phase of 12-18 months, Ukraine will take measures to anchor fiscal, external, price and financial stability. The second phase will focus on more ambitious reforms aimed at strengthening macroeconomic stability and supporting the country’s recovery and reconstruction, also taking into account Ukraine’s aspiration to become a member of the European Union. Regular reviews of the IMF programme are ongoing. Since the adoption of the programme, almost USD 3.6 billion of the IMF support has reached the country following the successful implementation of the obligations assumed by the Ukrainian authorities.
Last updated: 19-09-2023
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