The IMF mission is completing its work in Ukraine. The working and official meetings between the senior officials and experts of the National Bank of Ukraine, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, other authorities of Ukraine and the IMF representatives have been held so far. The problems and tasks related to further cooperation under the Stand-By Arrangement have been reviewed at these meetings.

The fruitful work has been undertaken by the National Bank of Ukraine and the Government with a view to implementing the joint Memorandum signed in 2010. The fulfillment of commitments by the National Bank of Ukraine under the Stand-By Arrangement, including the observance of quantitative performance criteria and progress achieved with regard to the foreign currency market liberalization, received a positive appraisal.

The monetary policy pursued by the National Bank is focused on reducing inflation and maintaining macroeconomic stability, including national currency stability. The balanced exchange-rate policy conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine has a positive effect on the overall state of Ukraine’s economy and the financial sphere.

Over the past year, Ukraine has made significant progress in implementing reforms resulted in the adoption of a more progressive tax code, implemented pension reform and administrative reform, which is still under way. In addition, a decisive implementation of the monetary and foreign exchange policy by the National Bank of Ukraine is a prerequisite for keeping inflation low and maintaining confidence in the domestic currency while safeguarding the corresponding level of the reserve position.

The National Bank of Ukraine hopes that the International Monetary Fund in cooperation with the Government will resolve all the issues under the Memorandum in the near future, which will enable Ukraine to receive the next tranche as it is vital for pushing forward with reforms.