Ukraine’s ranking officials met with Luca Barbone, World Bank Country Director for Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova, and discussed prospects for bilateral cooperation. This meeting took place after the opening of the Bank’s regional office in Kyiv. “The fact that the World Bank opened its regional office [in Kyiv] is evidence that we attach great importance to our cooperation with Ukraine,” Mr. Barbone said during his meeting with President Kuchma. Mr. Kuchma gave a favorable assessment of the prospects for cooperation between Ukraine and the WB, and expressed his readiness to solve any arising problems “in a constructive way.” To quote Mr. Barbone, the Bank is currently preparing to develop a World Bank Strategy of Cooperation with Ukraine through 2007. It will reflect the priorities of the government action plan and the fundamental clauses of the presidential missive on Ukraine’s European choice.
Following his meeting with Premier Viktor Yanukovych, Mr. Barbone said the WB is ready to speed up the preparation of the second loan under the Program Systemic Loan, PSL, and submit it to the WB Board of Directors for consideration (initially, the government expected this work to be completed by September 2003), though this is possible only if Verkhovna Rada passes the “required bills” in good time. Among them Mr. Barbone named the bills on reforming the system of taxation and improving the funding of the power-generating sector, reports Interfax- Ukraine. These bills should be passed “before the summer, when the presidential race is due to begin,” Mr. Barbone stressed. There are no other conditions attached to the second loan under the PSL. “We support the government action plan, and consider the adoption of the budget as a positive step in this process,” he said. In 2001 Ukraine already received the first $250 million loan of the three scheduled loans. The total loan under the PSL was expected to be $750 million.
