On March 9, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko and Minister of Finance of Norway Trygve Slagsvold Vedum held an online meeting during which they discussed the current financial situation in Ukraine and the importance of external financial support.
The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Olga Zykova and Government Commissioner for Public Debt Management Yuriy Butsa.
During the meeting, the Minister of Finance of Ukraine informed his Norwegian colleagues about the large-scale deficit of the state budget, which reached $38 billion for 2023. Sergii Marchenko noted the efforts of international partners, thanks to which most of the state budget deficit could be considered as provided by sources, in particular, the United States Government, which provided grant assistance in the amount of $9.9 billion, and the European Union, which launched a new program of Macro-Financial Assistance of EUR 18 billion. However, even considering these efforts, Ukraine still needs $10 billion to cover the state budget deficit.
The parties discussed the need to preserve Ukraine’s macroeconomic stability and the importance of preserving the Government’s ability to continue providing all priority social expenditures of the state budget.
Sergii Marchenko also emphasized that it was important to adhere to the principle of predictability and rhythm of external financing in order to avoid hryvnia emission, which could have negative consequences in the form of rising inflation.
In turn, Minister of Finance of Norway Trygve Slagsvold Vedum assured of the further support of Ukraine by the Government of Norway. (Government portal/Business World Magazine)
