Ukraine’s Finance Ministry expects that the deficit of the national budget in 2017 would be retained within the 2.4% of GDP target, Deputy Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko has said.
“The deficit is expected to be 2.4% of GDP. We do not see any risks that the target is not met,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv.
Earlier the World Bank projected that the deficit of Ukraine’s national budget in 2017 could be 3.5% of GDP, which is too high and exceeds the upper limit set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of 3.2% of GDP.
The IMF program the target for the budget deficit in 2018 is 2.5% of GDP.
Marchenko said that next year it was planned to have the same deficit as this year.
He said that consultations with the IMF were underway. The fund is alarmed with the fact that the deficit target for 2018 could not be met.
“Consultations are underway. This is a permanent process. We hold a phone conference with the IMF at least twice a week. Representatives of the National Bank of Ukraine took part in the later conference, as there were questions to the macroeconomic forecast figures. In general, everything is good. The constructive discussion is seen,” he said. (Interfax-Ukraine/Business World Magazine)