IMF mission arrives in Ukraine to review loan program

A mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrived here Tuesday for the first review of its Extended Fund Facility program, backed by a 17.5-billion-U.S.-dollar loan package, local media reported.

During its two-to-three-week stay in Ukraine, the mission will consult with Ukrainian authorities and evaluate Kiev's progress in implementing the provisions of the financial program.

In particular, the IMF team will check Ukraine's achievements in negotiations with its lenders on restructuring state debts, which reached 1.1 trillion hryvnias (53 billion dollars) or 71.5 percent of the gross domestic product at the end of 2014.

Once the team completes its mission, the IMF will make a decision on the allocation of the second tranche of the loan -- 2.462 billion dollars.

In mid-March, the global lender provided Ukraine with the first tranche of the loan worth 5 billion dollars to shore up the country's foreign currency reserves and supplement its budget.

The IMF executive board approved the four-year program for Ukraine in early March to help the troubled country carry out reforms and boost its economic development. Endi