Finance Minister: Ukraine expects first EUR 600 mln tranche of EU macro-financial assistance in late March-early April

Ukraine expects to receive the first tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 600 million in late March-early April, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko has said.

"The first tranche of such assistance will amount to EUR 600 million and is unconditional. We hope to receive these funds at the end of March or beginning of April this year," Marchenko said, speaking from the parliament rostrum during an hour of questions to the government on Friday.

"Ukraine will receive the second tranche after the parties approve short-term measures regarding the introduction of structural reforms, which the teams of the European Commission and the Ministry of Finance are currently working on," the minister added.

He called the allocation of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine unprecedentedly fast.

"The Ministry of Finance is also negotiating with the government of Japan regarding the formation of a mechanism for involving the Japanese international cooperation agency JICA in a new 'green' program with the World Bank on a development policy loan, the so-called green DPL," Serhiy Marchenko said.

He explained that the possibility of attracting from $500 million from the World Bank and up to $300 million from the Japanese government was being discussed.

Earlier, the European Parliament voted in favor of the proposal of the European Commission to provide Ukraine with new macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 1.2 billion.

Source: www.en.interfax.com.ua