“Ukraine is back to growth thanks to support provided by IMF and World Bank member states”, Minister of Financy Oleksandr Danylyuk says

From June 3 till June 5 Ukraine hosted the meeting of IMF and World Bank member states in Kyiv which was chaired by the Netherlands. The meeting was attended by ministers of finance and heads of the national banks of 15 countries. The meeting, which was conducted in Ukraine for the first time, had been opened by President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, Minister of Finance Oleksandr Danylyuk as well as by Head of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeriya Gontareva who also represents Ukraine in the IMF.

In his greeting to the meeting participants President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko thanked the ministers of finance and heads of the national banks of 15 participating countries for their consistent support for Ukraine.

“Your help and solidarity are important for the success of Ukraine on its way to macroeconomic stabilization”, the Head of State said.

Petro Poroshenko also emphasized that Ukraine is committed to the reforms which have been actively implemented jointly with the IMF and the World Bank. He appealed to international partners to consolidate their efforts in supporting Ukraine which is already establishing favorable conditions for international business and investments.

“Tackling corruption remains our top priority. Within the last 9 months we founded the independent Anti-Corruption Bureau in the course of our effective cooperation with partners from the USA and the EU and by implementing best international practices“, the President pointed out.

Minister of Finance Oleksandr Danylyuk also thanks the meeting participants for their support for Ukraine on its way of reforms and mentioned that Ukraine is now back on the growth track thanks to the close and fruitful cooperation with the IMF and the World Bank.

“Ukraine is back to growth. This became possible due to the support we have been receiving from the IMF, the World Bank and all member states. Political instability in Ukraine is already overcome. The new Government is resolute in its plans to implement irreversible positive changes for the sake of growth and prosperity in Ukraine”, Oleksandr Danylyuk said.

Head of the National Bank Valeriya Gontareva mentioned that Ukraine had managed to overcome its most acute problems and to achieve positive changes thanks to the support of the IMF, the World Bank and their member states.

“For the National Bank of Ukraine and for me personally it is a big honor to welcome the meeting participants in Kyiv.We highly appreciate support of our group members which we received within our cooperation programs. The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) opened a “window of opportunities” for Ukraine, and we are trying to use these opportunities in full scope”, the Head of the National Bank of Ukraine said.

Executive Director of the World Bank Frank Heemskerk expressed his thanks to the hosting side and stressed that Ukraine had been confronted with huge economic challenges including acute issues in the public administration as well as the military conflict.

“I am proud that after the Maidan in 2014 the World Bank was the first international financial organization which offered Ukraine a financial aid package with clearly set conditions, volume and commitments. We provided Ukraine financial aid amounting USD 2.4 billion and provided further USD 2.4 billion for various investment projects”, the Executive Director of the World Bank said.

Executive Director of the World Bank Menno Snel thanked the Ukrainian side for the organization of the meeting and said that he had a great pleasure in the meeting of the Regional group of the IMF and WB member states.

“We have been conducting joint meeting of the Regional group of the IMF and WB member states since 1995. I think that such meetings offer an opportunity not only to meet each other on the bilateral level, but also on the level of the Regional group or even on the family level to share opinions on various relevant issues as well as to discuss current economic trends. Our Regional group of the member states of the IMF and the WB serves as a platform for staging fruitful official and informal meetings and discussions”, Menno Snel said. – For me personally, this is the last Regional group meeting. It was a great honor for me to represent a number of countries in the Executive Board of the World Bank and to witness all your efforts and hard work as well as to help the member countries of this Regional group on their way of changes and reforms.”

Menno Snel also mentioned that the member states of the Regional group had already had two meetings on Friday, including one meeting with students at the Institute for International Relations of Kyiv Taras Shevchenko University.

“Frankly speaking, I was astonished by the fact that our meeting, scheduled for Friday afternoon, attracted more than 250 students, despite the great weather outside. All students spoke perfect English, were full of enthusiasm and asked questions about the IMF program and the plans of the Government of Ukraine to develop the country. This remarkable human capital means that Ukraine has a great and successful future”, the Executive Director of the IMF concluded.

During the panel discussion representatives of the IMF and World Bank member states discussed issues including sustainable economic prospects for the member countries of the Regional group, global trends and drivers for commodity prices as well as the economic implications of migration.