Britain to provide Ukraine $500M loan guarantees
British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said London was ready to provide Kyiv with additional loan guarantees worth $500 million, bringing the amount to $1 billion this year.
That's according to Reuters, Ukrinform reports.
The Minister said that British loan guarantees were important for securing a broader four-year $15.6 billion package of assistance for Ukraine from the International Monetary Fund.
"This funding will boost Ukraine's economic resilience and bolster its resistance against Russia," Hunt said.
The loan guarantee was first detailed in a written statement to Parliament last month. So far, Britain has pledged £6.5 billion ($8.1 billion) in support to Ukraine in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion, and the latest loan guarantees will help fund Ukrainian public institutions such as schools and hospitals, the UK Treasury said.
Hunt also said that the country has finished disbursing an additional $670 million for the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust and $3.3 billion for the IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Trust, which supports energy and climate change projects.
On April 11, the International Monetary Fund upgraded its outlook for the British economy but still expects the country's gross domestic product to shrink more this year than any other major Western economy.