The latest loan guarantee will help finance Ukraine’s public services, the UK said.
London:
Britain’s Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday that Britain is ready to provide an additional $500 million in loan guarantees to Ukraine, taking the total to $1 billion this year.
Hunt said the British loan guarantee was key to underwriting a sweeping four-year $15.6 billion support package for Ukraine from the International Monetary Fund, whose spring meeting he is attending in Washington.
“This funding will boost Ukraine’s economic resilience and strengthen its resistance to Russia,” he said in a statement.
The details of the loan guarantee were first disclosed in a written statement in Parliament last month.
Britain has now pledged a total of 6.5 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) in support for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the finance ministry said, and the latest loan guarantees will finance Ukrainian public services such as schools and hospitals. will help to do.
Hunt also said he finalized an additional $670 million for the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust and $3.3 billion for the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust, which supports energy projects and projects to combat climate change. Is.
“Our support for other countries comes at a time when I am focused on getting the UK economy going and our plan for this is working as we are on track to halve inflation this year,” he said. “
The IMF on Tuesday upgraded its outlook for Britain’s economy but still expects British GDP to contract more this year than any other major Western economy.
British inflation is expected to average 6.8% this year, according to the IMF, down from 9.1% in 2022 but above the 5.3% forecast for the euro area.
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