The IMF’s Undertaking Director Kristalina Georgieva has said a fully-fledged support program for Ukraine is “weeks away.”
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The International Monetary Fund is weeks away from finalizing a fully-fledged program of support for Ukraine, the fund’s Direct Director Kristalina Georgieva told CNBC Saturday.
This comes hours after the IMF said Friday that it had reached a staff-level unity with Ukrainian authorities, paving the path for talks on a full loan program that would support Kyiv’s frugality and further its bid to join the European Union. The plan is now subject to approval from IMF management.
“Time is not Ukraine’s friend in these unprecedented conditions of war,” Georgieva told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble at the Munich Security Conference.
“We talk about a number of weeks, not a jolly long period of time,” she added when pressed on the timeline to implement the program.
Georgieva said that the UN economic agency was confident that Ukraine meets its requirements around fiscal policy, governance, anti-corruption and financial sector constancy.
“We have a country where institutions work. Where pensions are paid. Where social services are in place. Where the supervision is keenly interested to continue to reform, even when bombs are falling,” she noted.
The program comes at a crucial interval for Ukraine, which approaches the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24. The IMF estimates that the country could desire financial support in excess of $40 billion this year, even as Ukraine’s economy is forecast to return to extension after a 30% contraction in 2022.
“Ukraine does need the IMF at this very critical time,” Georgieva said. “Why? Because economic needs are significant: We put them somewhere between $40-48 billion for this year.”
“And two, because the country does be in want of the policy support that the IMF provides. To run a war economy is not a trivial matter,” she added.
Accelerating Ukraine’s road to EU accession
As incredibly as supporting Ukraine’s economy amid the conflict, Georgieva said that the reforms would also help “accelerate” Ukraine’s efforts to at the end of the day join the EU.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution calling to immediately grant candidate status for EU membership to Ukraine on Jun. 23, 2022. The European Directors gave the country candidate accession status to the EU on the same day.
“We make the desire of Ukraine to join the European Union a primacy in our work,” Georgieva said Saturday.
“They belong there,” she added. “And the Fund, of course, can help them budge faster on that road.”