You're reading: Pyatt says resumption of program with IMF is priority for Ukraine

At present the main task for Ukraine is the resumption of program of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt has said.

“Number one priority right now, of course, is the implementation of the IMF program,” he said at an investment conference in Kyiv.

There are important steps that now need to be approved by the Verkhovna Rada, he said.

“And I think the most important single risk factor for Ukraine over the next couple of weeks is the attitude of the Rada and the ability of the president, the prime minister, former Prime Minister [Arseniy] Yatseniuk to continue and maintain discipline inside the Rada for the parliament to take the difficult steps that are part of capitalizing on the progress that has been made over the past 18 months in order to sustain the green shoots of economic recovery, which are already visible in the Ukrainian macro-economy,” Pyatt added.

The diplomat alluded to the issue of corruption, which is probably the single greatest impediment to unlocking greater foreign investment in Ukraine, which over the long term is going to be the driver of rapid growth, getting investors to come back into Ukraine.

He also mentioned a couple of other key leading indicators.

“Privatization is obviously one. Privatization is important both in order to improve an investment climate and also eliminate the use of state assets as sources of illicit profits for key oligarchic and political groups inside the Ukrainian political system. So how this privatization process goes forward is a key indicator to watch. We will be particularly focused on the upcoming privatization of Odesa port-side plant, the largest fertilizer plant in Europe, and that will help, I think, set either a positive or a negative tone for the larger process of privatization that lies ahead,” the official stressed.