The mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headed by Gavin Gray on Friday starts discussions with representatives of Ukraine in the context of continuing the discussion of the authorities' request regarding the Program Monitoring with Board involvement (PMB).

Vahram Stepanyan, the IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine, said the dialogue will be based on the results of meetings held in Vienna last month. The work of the mission will take place online, he added.

Earlier this week, NBU Governor Andriy Pyshny indicated that the mission is expected to last until November 17 and will formulate final agreements for the possibility of PMB approval by the fund executive board in early December.

According to him, these technical discussions with the participation of the leadership of the National Bank and the Ministry of Finance "should work out the outline of a program, which will form the basis of the NBU's action plan for the coming years and, probably, will become the basis of the expanded financing program that the Ukrainian team is counting on."

He recalled that the IMF mission, the NBU and the Ministry of Finance consolidated the position of monetary and fiscal policy in Vienna on October 17-20.

"The PMB will lay out the authorities’ policy intentions to support macroeconomic and financial stability and present an assessment of external financing needs for 2023. As such, the PMB will also provide a strong anchor for macroeconomic policies, further catalyze donor support, and help pave the way toward a fully-fledged fund program," Gavin Gray said following the work of the mission in Vienna.