WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (KUNA) -- International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva said Saturday she had a "very constructive" call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and assures him the Fund's "readiness to support the authorities' policy agenda." "During our conversation, I commended the President for the impressive progress that he and his government have made in the past few months in advancing reforms and continuing with sound economic policies," Georgieva said in a statement.
She added she was "pleased to note that IMF staff has reached agreement with the authorities on the policies to underpin a new three-year, (about USD 5.5 billion) arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility." She affirmed "this agreement is subject to IMF management approval and to approval by the Executive Board, and effectiveness of the arrangement will be conditional on the implementation of a set of prior actions." She added they both agreed that Ukraine's economic success "depends crucially on strengthening the rule of law, enhancing the integrity of the judiciary, and reducing the role of vested interests in the economy, and that it is paramount to safeguard the gains made in cleaning up the banking system and recover the large costs to the taxpayers from bank resolutions." (end) si.mb