| IMF Hands Ukraine $5B For 18
Months After Inner City Press Asked of Sudan
and Standards
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- The
Source
NEW YORK, SDNY,
June 9 – When the
International Monetary Fund
held its biweekly embargoed
media briefing on June 4,
Inner City Press submitted
questions including on Sudan,
which IMF Spokesperson Gerry
Rice answered, see below.
Now on June
9, the IMF on Ukraine issued
this: "The Executive Board of
the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) approved today an
18-month Stand-by Arrangement
for Ukraine, with access
equivalent to SDR 3.6 billion
(about US$5 billion or 179
percent of quota). The new
program aims to help Ukraine
to cope with COVID-19 pandemic
challenges by providing
balance of payments and budget
support, while safeguarding
achievements to date and
advancing a small set of key
structural reforms, to ensure
that Ukraine is well-poised to
return to growth when the
crisis ends. Ukraine’s
track record in stabilizing
the economy over the last 5
years has been strong.
However, more reforms efforts
are needed to ensure robust
and inclusive growth. The
outbreak of the COVID-19
pandemic has significantly
worsened the outlook and has
refocused government policies
on containment and
stabilization. Uncertainty is
large, and the economy is
projected to contract sharply
in 2020 as strict containment
measures—in Ukraine and
globally—led to sizable falls
in domestic and external
demand. The 2020 budget is
expected to be hit hard, with
a sharp decline in revenues
and large emergency spending
needs to address the crisis.
This has created large
balance-of-payments and fiscal
financing needs."
Back
on June 4 Inner City Press
asked, "On Sudan, what is the
status - ot's reported Sudan
is seeking its first IMF
program since 2014. Agreeing
the non-financial initiative
in June talks and persuading
the U.S. to drop its
long-standing listing of Sudan
as a state sponsor of
terrorism are key planks of
the plan, FinMin El-Badawi
said."
IMF spokesperson Rice said,
Matthew Lee in New York, Inner
City Press, thank you for the
question... He confirmed,
largely, and referring to
COVID-19 in Sudan. Full answer
on video here.
Transcript here;
"for a question on Sudan from
Matthew Lee, up there in New
York, Inner City Press. Thank
you, Matthew. "On Sudan,"
Matthew asks, "What's the
status? It's reported that
Sudan is seeking its first IMF
program since 2014," etc.
At least
the IMF answers Press
questions. We'll have more on
this - watch this site.
***
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