IMF approves new 4-year financing program for Ukraine

KIEV, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a new four-year financing program for Ukraine totaling 8.1 billion U.S. dollars, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Friday.

The program under the IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) is part of a broader international support package for Ukraine worth 136.5 billion dollars.

It is aimed at strengthening Ukraine's macroeconomic and financial stability, while advancing structural reforms, including in governance.

According to Ukraine's Finance Ministry, the program's macroeconomic priorities include implementing prudent fiscal policy, ensuring price stability, and preventing external imbalances, notably by increasing exchange rate flexibility.

The ministry added that the program's first tranche of 1.5 billion dollars is expected to be disbursed in the near term.

The previous IMF financing program approved for Ukraine in 2023 was cancelled as it was predicated on a scenario in which the active phase of the Russia-Ukraine conflict would end. ■