From 5 to 16 April 2021, the NBU participated in official events within the framework of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. Although this year’s events were held completely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, participants worked hard, conducting a large number of bilateral meetings and events. Thanks to the online format, the IMF and the World Bank organized more events and attracted more people.
This year, all issues were considered in terms of the fallout from the spread of COVID-19 and its impact on the global economy. Participants discussed possible measures to combat the global crisis, and relevant reforms. As a rule, participants of the IMF’s and the World Bank’s Spring Meetings discuss expectations for regional and global trends in economic development and financial stability. This year’s meetings prioritized promoting green finance, climate change, investment in these areas, their fiscal aspects, and developing digital finance and digitalization – a topic that has been on the agenda over the past few years.
This year’s meetings were customarily fruitful, resulting in a number events being held with the participation of NBU representatives. During the two weeks, the NBU leadership met with representatives of the IMF and the World Bank, central bankers from other countries, and investors, and were able to take part in a number of key events held as part of the Spring Meetings.
The series of events ended with a meeting on 19 April with Paul Gilbers, Executive Director of the IMF who heads a regional group of IMF member states that includes Ukraine.
The meetings focused on:
- Ukraine’s macroeconomic policy, NBU projections for inflation and GDP, and strategies to combat the COVID-19-induced crisis
- continuing cooperation with the IMF under the current Stand-By Program and with the World Bank under the Development Policy Loan project, and identifying steps to secure funding for these programs
- the need to support the NBU’s independence as a vital prerequisite for overcoming the crisis and ensuring financial stability in Ukraine
- the importance of developing green and sustainable finance
- other bilateral cooperation issues and prospects for implementing possible joint initiatives.
Our international partners expressed their support for the NBU’s policies and pledged to continue to cooperate in order to implement the reforms necessary for the development of Ukraine’s financial sector and the establishment of the NBU as a reliable and progress-driven regulator.