Ukraine seeks more IMF loans for economic growth

Ukraine is seeking 12 billion U.S. dollars credit from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a new program, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Tigipko said on Tuesday.

"We will present a Ukrainian draft program for cooperation with the IMF over the next 2-1/2 years. It's a new program aimed at supporting economic growth," Tigipko said in a news release issued by his press service.

Tigipko noted he would put Ukraine's case to the IMF in Washington when he travels there on Thursday.

"I think such a program might be around 12 billion U.S. dollars, " he said, adding that he hoped the first tranche of the new credit could be disbursed in June.

The IMF in autumn 2008 approved the two-year bailout program for Ukraine. So far, the Eastern European country has received 11 billion U.S. dollars of a 16.4-billion-dollar IMF loan.

The IMF has suspended the rest of the money since last November, stressing Ukraine needed to implement economic reforms before IMF would hand over any more.

Cooperation with the IMF has been suspended twice after Ukraine failed to trim government spending, which was one of the key requirements Kiev had to meet if it wanted to receive the aid.

Yanukovych was sworn in as Ukraine president on Feb. 25. Later on, he urged Prime Minister Mykola Azarov to resume cooperation with IMF, saying it is an important task for the government.

Last month, a mission from the IMF arrived in Kiev for 10 days of talks with the Ukrainian government on resuming the suspended bailout, but they failed to reach an agreement on cutting Ukraine' s budget deficit as part of its loan agreement with the Washington- based lender.

Source: Xinhua