At the G20, Yellen again calls for increased economic aid to Ukraine

By David Lawder

BENGALURU, Feb 23 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stepped up calls on Thursday for more financial support for Ukraine to help it fight a year-long Russian invasion as states United States is preparing an additional economic aid of 10 billion dollars for the coming weeks.

Yellen, in a statement prepared for a press conference where G20 financial leaders were meeting outside India’s technology hub in Bangalore, said it was essential that the International Monetary Fund “move quickly” towards a program of fully funded loan for Ukraine.

“As President Biden has said, we will stand with Ukraine in their fight for as long as it takes,” he said. “Continued and strong support for Ukraine will be one of the main talking points during my time here in India.”

Ukraine has requested a multi-year IMF program worth $15 billion, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmihal said Monday after meeting IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Kyiv.

Yellen said past U.S. military, economic and humanitarian assistance, totaling $46 billion, has enabled Ukraine to preserve economic and financial stability under “extraordinary circumstances.”

“Our economic aid makes Ukraine’s resistance possible by supporting the home front: funding essential public services and helping to keep the government running. In the coming months, we hope to provide approximately $10 billion in additional economic assistance to Ukraine.

The US aid was approved by Congress in December as part of a sweeping government funding bill that included a new $45 billion package in military and other emergency aid to the war-torn country. .

MITIGATE THE IMPACT

In his speech, Yellen said the global economy “is in better shape today than many predicted just a few months ago” and concerns are easing that the effects of the war in Ukraine could cause a sharp slowdown in growth.

The Treasury Secretary said that if headline inflation begins to subside in the United States and around the world, it is important that G20 finance officials continue to work to reduce inflation, adding: “We are not not yet out of the woods”.

He said price caps imposed by Western countries on Russian exports of crude oil and petroleum products helped stabilize global energy prices, while “substantially” reducing Russia’s energy revenues.

“Last month, the Kremlin’s oil revenues were almost 60% lower than those immediately after the invasion,” he said, adding that this allowed emerging markets, including India, to trade strong discounts on Russian oil.

Yellen said G20 countries must work to alleviate the debt overhang that plagues more than half of low-income countries.

“I will continue to press for all official bilateral creditors, including China, to commit to meaningful debt treatments for troubled developing countries and emerging markets,” he said, before speaking. adding that dealing with Zambia’s debt and funding guarantees for Sri Lanka were “most urgent”. .

The G20 meetings will also be a key point to work on advancing reforms at the World Bank and other multilateral development banks to expand their lending to tackle climate change, pandemics and other challenges. worldwide, he said.

He praised David Malpass, the outgoing president of the World Bank, saying that under his leadership the bank has “significantly improved the lives of people around the world”.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Spanish edited by Flora Gómez)