It is very important to obtain a tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Ukraine, first to give investors a positive signal that the IMF continues cooperating with the country, Serhiy Arbuzov, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has said in an interview with the Fifth TV Channel.
"I believe that the role of the IMF is very important today. We fulfilled all conditions of the memorandum we had signed in full. However, there is a problem in one issue – the gas agreements, the domestic prices of gas and I think that when the issue is settled we’ll return to talks with IMF. It’s very important for us to obtain a tranche, not because we are in short supply of money – we have rather large currency reserves, but it’s important for investors to have a leading light: the IMF is working in the country. I’m sure that we’ll find understanding and return to the issue," he said.
Arbuzov said that the NBU does not spend money of the IMF, while the central bank supports the balance of payment using the funds.
"I want to explain that we don’t spend IMF’s money – we need the money to support the balance of payment. When the balance of payment has the surplus, the NBU buys back extra money and returns IMF’s credits. I want to say that we will return the borrowed funds, not our children," he said.
