On 14–16 September 2022, NBU Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko, his Deputy Yuriy Heletiy, and the rest of Ukraine’s official delegation took part in the Annual Meeting of the IMF’s and the World Bank Group’s constituency that includes Ukraine.
This year, the IMF’s and the World Bank’s management and the heads of the constituency’s central banks and financial institutions gathered in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) to discuss the current economic situation in their countries and around the globe. The discussion focused on inflation, energy security, and the fallout from the war in Ukraine, among other things.
Kyrylo Shevchenko, NBU Governor, Yurii Butsa, Government Commissioner for Public Debt Management, Anna Bjerde, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, Alfred Kammer, Director of the European Department at the IMF, and Alfonso García Mora, IFC Regional Vice President for Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, participated in a panel to discuss the impact of russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine on our country’s and the constituency’s economic and financial conditions.
“Ukraine’s economy and financial sector are under so much pressure that it’s incomparable with previous crisis episodes. The NBU estimates that Ukraine will see its GDP fall by one-third this year, and that inflation will exceed 30% yoy. We are taking every measure necessary to ease inflationary pressure and shore up the economy. But we need international funding, because our resources alone will not suffice,” Kyrylo Shevchenko emphasized.
The participants also talked about the ways to tackle the region’s inflation, which is partially driven by the consequences of the war in Ukraine. NBU Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko thanked the IMF for expanding its Rapid Financing Instrument to give Ukraine and the countries affected by the war-related food crisis a chance to receive additional aid.
“At the same time, we are looking forward to the launch of negotiations on a new IMF program that will enable Ukraine not only to cover its balance of payments gaps and promote its macroeconomic stability, but also to continue to implement structural reforms,” Kyrylo Shevchenko also underscored.
During the visit, the Ukrainian delegation also held bilateral meetings with the leadership of the IMF, the World Bank, and International Finance Corporation.
The IMF’s and the World Bank Group’s constituency meetings take place once a year in one of the member countries, as well as during the Spring and Annual Meetings of these institutions. The meetings are convened to discuss the constituencies’ most pressing issues.
The IMF’s and the World Bank’s Eastern and Southeastern Europe constituencies comprise the following member countries: The Netherlands, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Georgia, Croatia, Israel, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania, and Ukraine.