Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy relies on attracting investment to accelerate economic growth, which will become impossible if default is announced, Zelenskiy’s advisor on macroeconomic policy, Executive Director of the Bleyzer Foundation Oleg Ustenko has said.
“This is definitely not the time to refuse cooperation with the IMF. This will cut us off foreign markets for borrowing capital. This is extremely dangerous, considering that investment is the main bet now on the opportunity to get impetus for further economic growth. And this is quite clearly articulated by President Zelenskiy,” he told the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
Thus, the refusal to cooperate with the IMF will discord with this thesis of the president, Ustenko noted.
“The influx of investments into the country may even weaken compared to the current “half-dead” rates. That is, we risk that these flows will generally tend to zero,” the expert said.
According to him, in view of the upcoming peak payments on public debt, it will be much easier to ensure financial stability in the country with the availability of a cooperation program with the IMF. At the same time, the announcement of default will not relieve Ukraine from the need to continue servicing foreign debts, Zelenskiy’s advisor stressed.
