The First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy, Yuliia Svyrydenko, held a meeting with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Uma Ramakrishnan, Deputy Director of the IMF's European Department. The discussions focused on financial support for Ukraine through a four-year, $15.6 billion loan programme and the reform plan under the Ukraine Facility programme.

"We discussed with our IMF colleagues the government's business support programmes and our plans to stimulate the economy for the next year. We also raised the issue of focusing on economic growth by supporting business activity, private sector investment and war risk insurance. We reiterated our stance on the choice of a model for increasing budget revenues. If faced with the decision between raising tax rates and expanding the tax base, our preference is to stimulate business growth by expanding the tax base. At present, it is crucial for us to boost processing industries to increase the monetary value of exports even as the physical volume of exports may decrease," explained Yuliia Svyrydenko.

"On their part, IMF representatives assured that their assistance is planned in two stages: the first stage will focus on achieving macroeconomic stability, while the second stage will support reforms. In this context, the parties discussed the preparation of a reform plan for the future, which is currently under discussion within the framework of the Ukraine Facility programme.

"We are interested in the opinion of IMF experts regarding the reform plan since we are in the process of preparing a document that should be acceptable to all our international partners who provide financial support to Ukraine. It is now crucial to send signals to the donor community about the importance of supporting war risk insurance programmes and the development of export-oriented production, which will play a vital role in ensuring future budget revenues and macroeconomic stability," continued Yuliya Svyrydenko.

During the discussions, the parties also addressed the issue of labour migration and concluded that without the development of a strong economy, it will be exceedingly challenging to encourage Ukrainians to return from abroad. As a result, the Ministry of Economy considers creating a secure business environment and generating new job opportunities as its primary objectives at present."