IMF experts visit Ukraine before resuming funding

A group of visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) experts began here Tuesday assessing Ukraine's condtions before the institution could resume a suspended 15-billion-U.S. dollar funding program for the East European country. During their stay till Nov. 4, the experts are expected to meet government and central bank officials to check whether Ukraine has met the IMF's requirements of cutting budget deficit, adopting pension reform and increasing household gas prices. According to some Ukrainian officials, Kiev completely fulfilled two of the above-mentioned preconditions. The issue of increasing gas prices remains open. The IMF approved a standby program for Ukraine in July 2010 and since then Kiev has received two tranches of funding. But in February 2011 the program was suspended. The Ukrainian government said the next two tranches of the funding can be combined, which will replenish the foreign exchange reserves of Ukraine's National Bank with about 3 billion dollars.