Markarova hopes next program with IMF will be last one

"We have reached an agreement not just about the next tranche, but about a new program [on cooperation with the IMF]. This is a three-year program for about $5.5 billion. We have a little special situation, because countries tend to apply to the IMF when they have problems, as to the lender of last resort. We actually have a better situation according to all indicators," Markarova said during the Freedom of Speech talk show on the ICTV channel late on Monday, December 16.

According to her, the macroeconomic situation in Ukraine is stable and is improving now.

"The cost of borrowing is declining, but we are still not where we can say we are fully self-sufficient. So this three-year program is, as we call it, the last program that we will not finish halfway through, but we will finish it, and we will maintain our cooperation with the IMF as a participating country that does not need new lending," Markarova said.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, a new program on cooperation with the IMF may be signed in the first quarter of 2020.

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