Prime Minister of Ukraine visits the US to discuss major affairs

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and Central Bank Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko will visit Washington DC next week for the spring meetings of Ukraine’s government, sources familiar with the matter said. International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB).

Prime Minister Shmyhal, Minister Marchenko and Governor Shevchenko are expected to meet bilaterally with G7 finance officials and others, and participate in a roundtable on Ukraine organized by the World Bank on Tuesday. April 21st.

The April 21 event will be the first opportunity for key Ukrainian officials to meet face-to-face with a range of financial officials from advanced economies since Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. .

The war in Ukraine is expected to dominate next week’s meetings of senior economic officials WB and IMF member countries, as well as the G7 and G20, with the IMF likely to lower its global growth forecast as a result of the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sending troops to Ukraine to carry out a “special military operation” to demilitarize Ukraine. Kiev and its Western allies say these are justifications for an unprovoked attack that displaced a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people and resulted in the deaths of thousands.

The April 21 meeting will be more of a roundtable than a donor conference, although both the IMF and the World Bank have set up separate accounts to handle and forward donations, and commitments. Supplements are expected to be announced next week.

The meeting will also provide officials with an opportunity to discuss the devastation and economic consequences of the war, as well as the continued functioning of Ukraine’s banking and financial sectors.

One of the sources said, without support now for Ukraine, there will be no reconstruction in the future.

The World Bank was not immediately available for comment on the event.

Chairperson World Bank David Malpass told an event in Warsaw this week that the World Bank is preparing a $1.5 billion aid package for Ukraine.

The IMF’s executive board last week approved the creation of a new account that would allow bilateral donors and international groups to safely transfer financial resources to Ukraine.

Canada, one of Ukraine’s main backers, has proposed disbursing up to C$1 billion through a new account, which will be managed by the IMF.

This account will allow donors to provide grants and loans to help the Ukrainian government meet its balance of payments and budget needs, and help stabilize its economy as the country continues to operate. continue to deal with the war of Russia.

Finance Minister Marchenko said last week that Ukraine is seeking about 4 billion euros ($4.37 billion) in foreign funding in addition to about 3 billion euros that Kiev has received to address the budget shortfall.