Exhaustion with the Ukrainian financial needs has set in, and no one can deny – not even Kiev officials.
In the IMF meeting, in Marrakech, the world had yet another display of the endless fundraising to keep the war going.
But Ukraine is finding it increasingly harder to secure financial support, as the attention of western officials is tied up with upcoming elections and new geopolitical tensions in the rise, according to Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.
Reuters reported:
“‘I see a lot of tiredness, I see a lot of weakness among our partners, they would like to forget about the war but the war is still ongoing, full-scale’, Marchenko said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings in Marrakech.
He said Ukraine is making ‘twice the effort right now to convince our partners to provide us with support compared to the last annual meetings’ in April.”
Talks in the IMF meeting have been overshadowed by the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“Marchenko said ‘a geopolitical shift and internal political context in different countries’ was dampening governments’ appetite to support Ukraine, mentioning elections scheduled in the U.S. and the European Union next year.”
Ukraine will be dependent on outside help for the bulk of next year’s spending requirements.
“‘We already have some commitments, like $5.4 billion from the IMF program, and we expect commitments from Japan and United Kingdom, and of course, we rely on our key partners and allies the United States and European Union’, Marchenko said in the interview.”
Also in Marrakech, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the country would need budget support of about $42 billion until 2024.
Shmyhal told a high-level roundtable that Ukraine’s state budget deficit would be about 20% of the country’s GDP this year and 21% in 2024.
USNews reported:
“‘We expect support from all our partners, both in equal amounts’, Shmyhal said. ‘This will allow the government to meet its basic social obligations to pay pensions, salaries to doctors and teachers, and to help those whose homes have been destroyed by Russia’.”
He said that $14 billion alone would be needed for a rapid-recovery response program.
“Shmyhal said the key to the country’s resilience has been economic reform programs, including those to fight corruption and boost digitalization. He said that Ukraine was preparing a single reform ‘road map’ through 2027 based on international recommendations and Ukraine’s proposals
[…] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the roundtable also urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to stay focused on fighting corruption and pledged U.S. support for Ukraine for ‘as long as it takes’.”
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