Ukraine gets USD 200 mln from Switzerland to replenish reserves

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko reached an agreement on Jan. 22 with Johann Schneider-Ammann, the president of the Swiss Confederation, to receive USD 200 mln in aid to replenish Ukraine’s gross international reserves, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported that day, citing the Presidential Administration press-service. In a statement, Poroshenko expressed his gratitude for total support amounting to USD 350 mln, the report said. Previously, Poroshenko expressed his expectation that the new IMF tranche will arrive in February after meeting in Davos with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Jan. 21.

Alexander Paraschiy: Switzerland’s commitment for extra support, which is badly needed, is a good signal for Western cooperation. Still all Western funding, including the Swiss money, is hanging on progress in the IMF talks, we believe. Despite the approved 2016 budget with a narrow deficit (3.7% of GDP), the Fund still has some concerns that haven’t been made public. We anticipate more details to be released in the nearest future and hope those comments will not harm the third tranche of USD 1.7 bln from being approved in February.