Ukrainian PM Expects $1.7 Billion From IMF This Year

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman (file photo)

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman has said his country will receive a total of $1.7 billion in financial aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year.

Hroysman made the announcement in Kyiv on June 21 after returning from an official trip to Washington.

The IMF approved a four-year $17.5-billion bailout last year for Ukraine, which is emerging from a political crisis and has been engulfed in a conflict with Russia-backed separatists for more than two years.

The Washington-based organization has been frustrated by the slow passage of reforms in Ukraine. Kyiv has so far received $6.7 billion of the IMF's loan package and seen no new disbursements since August 2015.

Hroysman’s cabinet, which took over in April, has pledged to resume cooperation with the IMF to underpin recovery from a recession and boost reserves.

The country’s economy, which declined by 9.9 percent in 2015, is expected to grow 1.5 percent this year, according to Hroysman.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, UNIAN, and Bloomberg