Sergii Marchenko Gave Speech at the Meeting of the G7 Financial Bloc

On December 22, Sergii Marchenko took part in the meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the G7 countries, the EU, the IMF and the World Bank. The session was dedicated to the financial and economic situation in Ukraine in the context of the full-scale invasion of russia and criminal shelling of civilian infrastructure.

Speaking at the session, Sergii Marchenko thanked the G7 partners for their determined support of Ukraine in 2022. Financial and military assistance, sanctions pressure on the aggressor - this is what helps Ukraine to support its citizens and bravely resist the enemy.

Separately, Sergii Marchenko thanked the German Minister of Finance Christian Lindner and Germany, which chaired the G7 in 2022.

"Germany is completing its presidency of the G7, I want to express my sincere gratitude for your efforts in supporting Ukraine during this year. We have had the honor to cooperate with the G7 countries under your presidency, during which Germany played a leading role in mobilizing support for Ukraine," Sergii Marchenko said.

The ministers of finance and governors of central banks, the EU, the IMF and the WB noted the heroic efforts of the Ukrainian people in defending not only their country but also the democratic values of the civilized world. They also assured that Ukraine would receive the necessary support over the next year.

Regarding plans for 2023, Sergii Marchenko stressed that the budget deficit next year will amount to USD 38 billion. And Ukraine counts on the support of the G7 to finance the deficit. In this context, the parties discussed the establishment of a multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform to coordinate existing and new mechanisms to support the budget of Ukraine, as well as rapid recovery and reconstruction.

"The key importance of this Platform is that the G7 members will discuss the issues of Ukraine at one table, which will allow to better coordinate the attraction and receipt of financial assistance to Ukraine", Sergii Marchenko commented on the initiative.

The Minister of Finance of Ukraine stressed that Ukraine is counting on effective cooperation with the International Monetary Fund in 2023.

"The other day, the IMF management approved the Program Monitoring for Ukraine (PMB), after which we expect to launch a full-fledged cooperation program (Upper credit tranche - UCT) with appropriate funding," said Sergii Marchenko.

During the meeting, all the partners unanimously agreed on the need to reach an agreement on a full-fledged cooperation program (UCT) between the IMF and Ukraine in quick manner, which will provide financing from the Fund for the needs of the state budget.

The Minister of Finance of Ukraine outlined the financial and economic situation in Ukraine in 2022.

"Suffering constant failures on the battlefield, the russian federation is trying to destroy the economy of Ukraine. But our economy and financial system continue to function despite systematic shelling of critical infrastructure, destruction of electricity facitilies, blocking of ports and exports by sea. Consumption remains at a high level, and the assistance of partners has allowed us to finance more than half of this year's budget deficit," Sergii Marchenko said in his speech.