Ukraine Requests 'Emergency Financing' from IMF

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva
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Ukraine Requests 'Emergency Financing' from IMF

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva

Ukraine has requested additional aid from the IMF following the Russian invasion, the fund's leader Kristalina Georgieva said Friday.

The crisis lender has an existing $2.2 billion aid program with Kyiv and "the authorities have also requested IMF emergency financing," Georgieva said in a statement.

The fund's board met to discuss the situation in the country and the IMF chief pledged to continue "to support Ukraine in every way we can."

The existing loan program was due to end in June, but Georgieva said the institution "has a number of instruments in its toolkit" to provide aid.

Georgieva repeated her warning about the crisis in Ukraine, calling it "a matter of grave concern" due to the human toll and the broader effect on the global recovery.

"The conflict is also having a serious economic impact, which will worsen the longer it continues," AFP quoted her as saying.

"This crisis comes at a delicate time, when the global economy is recovering from the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic, and threatens to undo some of that progress."

The IMF and others have warned about the impact rising oil and food prices could have on countries already facing accelerating inflation.

Georgieva said the fund is coordinating with the World Bank to aid Ukraine and World Bank President David Malpass on Thursday said the bank was prepared to provide "immediate support" to the country.

He said the bank was "horrified by the shocking violence and loss of life" in Ukraine and would "stand with its people at this critical moment."



WTO Chief Calls for Calm amid Mounting Trade War

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks during the IC Forum at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 27 February 2025. EPA/TIL BUERGY
World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks during the IC Forum at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 27 February 2025. EPA/TIL BUERGY
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WTO Chief Calls for Calm amid Mounting Trade War

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks during the IC Forum at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 27 February 2025. EPA/TIL BUERGY
World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks during the IC Forum at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, 27 February 2025. EPA/TIL BUERGY

The WTO chief called for calm Friday in the face of a swelling global trade war as US President Donald Trump slaps steep tariffs against friends and foes alike.

"I understand the enormous amount of concerns that people have about what is going on," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told a meeting at the World Trade Organization headquarters, insisting though that "we shouldn't panic.”

She downplayed fears that the new US administration, which has been harshly critical of WTO, might decide to withdraw, as it has done from the World Health Organization and other UN bodies.

Just back from Washington, where she met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Okonjo-Iweala said "the indications I got is that they remain part of WTO.”

"They want to remain engaged," she told the event, adding that this could "give us room to (be)... I don't want to use the word hopeful, but I think it gives us room to believe that the US still find some value in being able to engage with other members at the WTO.”

"That is one of the reasons I think we should keep calm, we should listen to their concerns," she said.

Since his return to office in January, Trump has introduced sweeping levies against several top US trading partners.

Even though tensions eased a notch on Thursday, after the United States hit pause on the 25-percent tariffs it slapped earlier this week on most goods coming from Mexico and Canada, the standoff with China continues.

The European Union is also in the crosshairs, with Trump threatening the bloc with 25-percent levies, while also signing plans for sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" that could hit both allies and adversaries alike by April 2.

According to AFP, Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged during Friday's event, attended among others by former German chancellor Angela Merkel, that "what is happening now with the tariffs ... is challenging for the system.”

It is "a difficult moment,” she acknowledged, but added: "I will not agree that the system is in chaos or in turmoil.”

"Although the United States is very, very important for world trade, and of course sets a signal," she highlighted that "there is 80 percent of world trade going on among other members of the WTO.”

Other members are "trading among themselves according to the rules that exist," she said. "They should continue to do so."