IMF chief says Ukraine recovering quicker than expected

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, praised the Ukrainian government’s efforts in the field of managing the economy amid war, noting that the economic recovery is happening quicker than the fund predicted.

She said this during a roundtable discussion of support for Ukraine within the framework of the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, Ukrinform's own correspondent reports.

Georgieva noted that, Ukraine is recovering quicker than the Fund initially expected, adding that Ukraine’s resilience is “evident”: “In that last year’s sharp contraction has given way to a gradual recovery, with growth this year expected in the upper end of our 1–3 percent range.”

At the same time, she continued, the Ukrainian side assures that it will surpass this threshold as well.

“I also applaud the Ukrainian authorities for their skillful economic management through these challenges. For ensuring public service delivery, for advancing on important, and often difficult, structural reforms through wartime, and for maintaining policies that safeguard macroeconomic and financial stability,” Georgieva said.

Ukraine’s resilience is “evident”, she added, in that last year’s sharp contraction has given way to a gradual recovery, with growth this year expected in the upper end of our 1–3 percent range, with inflation decelerating swiftly to single digits.

Central bank reserves have strengthened, thanks in part to external support, she stressed.

Looking ahead, she expressed gratitude to the large number of countries that have provided financing assurances to Ukraine as part of the financing package, but as the full-scale war continues, and as social and economic costs mount, “Ukraine’s financing needs are also rising,” which makes the period ahead “more challenging.”

“The Ukrainian authorities are committed to doing their part – by undertaking important and difficult reforms and mobilizing domestic savings. However, it is also critical that these assurances of external support materialize,” stressed Georgieva.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), the IMF predicted Ukraine's GDP growth in 2023 at 2%, which is significantly different from the Fund's April outlook for this year, suggesting a 3 percent drop for a war-torn country.