Ukrainian Economy is Recovering After the Crisis - Head of IMF Staff Mission

KYIV, Ukraine, February 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ukrainian economy is recovering after the crisis, and the tendency for economic growth is becoming evident, according to the IMF Mission Chief for Ukraine Athanasios Arvanitis.

"Indeed, the mission sees that Ukraine has made a considerable progress," said Athanasios Arvanitis at his meeting with the Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov.

"We appreciate the establishment of financial stability in Ukraine, however, one should keep in mind that last year was very difficult. Now the banking system is regaining confidence. Also, the inflow of deposits into Ukrainian banks starts to grow again," stated the head of the IMF Staff Mission to Ukraine.

Mykola Azarov highlighted that the head of the IMF Mission to Ukraine "positively regarded the social and economic development (in Ukraine. - Ed.) in 2010."

Earlier, at the meeting with the head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Athanasios Arvanitis stressed that Ukraine had successfully implemented most of the requirements according to the Stand-By Arrangement. The head of the IMF Mission to Ukraine also stated that thanks to the mutual efforts of the National Bank of Ukraine and the Ukrainian government it became possible to bring the inflation rate down to less than 10 per cent.

Earlier, in the course of the Yalta Forum organized by Yalta European Strategy, the Head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, mentioned, that "Ukrainian economy has returned to the right path, and, among others, the IMF is to thank."

However, the Prime Minister of Ukraine mentioned, that "we (Ukraine. - Ed.) are experiencing serious difficulties because of the uncertainty in the global market. The plans we have made together with the IMF, primarily concerning the economic development, can become a subject to change in case domestic market fails to function at an expected pace."

The International Monetary Fund approved a 2 1/2-year, $15.2 billion SBA loan program for Ukraine in July 2010. Respectfully, Ukraine undertook a number of steps aimed at reforming the country to bring more financial stability.