Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Ms Valeria Gontareva held a meeting with G7 and EU Ambassadors.
The meeting featured Mr Hugues Mingarelli, EU Ambassador to Ukraine and Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, Mr Ernst Reichel, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Ukraine, Mr Davide La Cecilia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to Ukraine, Mr Roman Waschuk, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ukraine, Mr Shigeki Sumi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine, Mr William Laitinen, Economic Counselor, Embassy of the United States of America, Ms Judith Goff, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Ukraine, and Ms Isabelle Dumont, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Ukraine.
NBU representative at the meeting included NBU First Deputy Governor Mr Yakiv Smolii and NBU Deputy Governors Ms Kateryna Rozhkova, Mr Dmytro Sologub, and Mr Oleg Churiy.
Ms Gontareva thanked the G7 and EU Ambassadors for fruitful cooperation and underlined that without international support Ukraine would have had no chance to stabilize the macroeconomic situation.
“The NBU maintains its 2016 year-end inflation target at 12%. We have managed to stabilize the macroeconomic situation and build up international reserves to USD 15.5 billion,” underlined Ms Gontareva.
In addition, the NBU Governor noted that the Ukrainian law that ensured the institutional and financial independence of the NBU marks an achievement not only for Ukraine, but also for the entire international community. The disbursement of the second tranche of IMF loans in 2015 was conditioned on amending the aforementioned law. Ms Gontareva said that the IMF has publicly stated that any attempts to strip the NBU of its independence are inadmissible.
The NBU’s actions were broadly supported by the G7 and EU Ambassadors. The G7 and EU Ambassadors pointed out that the NBU has invested significant efforts in the banking sector clean-up process and adopting a monetary policy framework based on inflation targeting.
Ambassador Goff noted significant progress made by the NBU in implementing reforms.
“The NBU’s success in implementing reforms is credited to the leadership and energy of Ms Gontareva and the efforts of a talented team of staff inducted into the NBU. The central bank ensured economic stability and reformed the banking sector, both of which are critical to attracting further investments into Ukraine. It is essential that the NBU be able to continue its efforts without hindrance. The United Kingdom will continue to support the NBU’s reform efforts,” underlined the UK Ambassador to Ukraine.
Ambassador Dumont stressed the importance of changes put in place by the NBU since 2014.
“It is critical therefore that the independence of the central bank be retained and protected, which would enable the NBU to continue its efforts in a favorable environment,” said Ambassador Dumont.
In his turn, Ambassador Reichel commended the significant progress made by the central bank in achieving macroeconomic stability, which paves the way for macroeconomic growth and investments.
“I am confident that this success has been achieved due to the institutional independence of the NBU and depriving the central bank of its independence would be harmful,’ said Ambassador Reichel.
In his turn, Ambassador Waschuk said, “We can see that the support that we provided to the NBU has yielded visible financial results: two years of FX stability and more clear rules for banks. We welcome the resolve of the NBU in addressing challenges faced by the central bank.”
Ambassador Mingarelli,underlined that the EU is set to support reform programs of various Ukrainian public authorities, including those of the central bank.
“The European Union has always strived to support efforts aimed at the harmonization of domestic legislation with EU standards, which is crucial for advancing Ukraine’s financial sector reforms,” said Ambassador Mingarelli.
The meeting participants also discussed a number of current issues, including the macroeconomic situation in the country, the current status of banking sector reforms, the redistribution of supervisory functions in respect of the non-banking market between the NBU and the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, and further FX liberalization.