Sergii Marchenko: The World Bank Again Proves its Support for Ukraine in Overcoming Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sergii Marchenko: The World Bank Again Proves its Support for Ukraine in Overcoming Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic

On December 14, Ukraine and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) signed the Agreement on the Second Additional Financing, aimed at overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, under the "Social Safety Nets Modernization Project."

The Ministry of Finance, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy, has made every effort to prepare the agreement as soon as possible, thanks to which Ukraine will be able to attract a USD 300 million loan to the general fund of the state budget, USD 170 million of which - by the end of this year.

The Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko thanked all participants of the negotiation process for constructive cooperation. "The signing of the Agreement on the Second Additional Financing for the "Social Safety Nets Modernization Project" is a logical end of the year, in which the World Bank has once again demonstrated its effective support to combat the effects of the spread of COVID-19. The main goal is to provide social assistance and social services for low-income families, as well as help those affected by the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

This is the Second Additional Financing for the "Social Safety Nets Modernization Project" (total of USD 750 million), which is realized in Ukraine. The Project aims to improve the performance of social assistance and social services in Ukraine for low-income families.

Acting Director of the World Bank Regional Country for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine Klavdiya Maksymenko thanked for the joint work on the Agreement and congratulated all present that it had been prepared for signature as soon as possible.

"We have signed the Agreement that will start working for Ukrainians in the coming days. I would like to express the readiness of the World Bank to continue supporting fruitful cooperation with the Government of Ukraine - either on the already implemented and approved projects or on the new ones, on which we are currently working together, "said Klavdiya Maksymenko.

In turn, Sergii Marchenko noted that the support of the World Bank and the rapid adoption of important decisions gives hope for continued cooperation, and assured the readiness to work persistently on projects aimed at developing education, the purchase of vaccines from COVID-19, etc.

The signed Agreement allows starting the implementation of the new project "Additional Financing for the Social Safety Nets Modernization Project".

The signing of the Agreement on the project "Eastern Ukraine: Reconnect, Recover, Revitalize (3R Project)" aimed at improving transport connection and supporting the rehabilitation of the agricultural sector in the Luhansk region is also expected in the near future.