PM at meeting with USAID Administrator Gayle Smith: USAID announced additional $142 mln to Ukraine in support of energy, judicial reforms and carrying out decentralization

On Wednesday, June 15, in the framework of the visit to the United States, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman met with USAID Administrator Gayle Smith in Washington, DC. The sides discussed areas of enhancing bilateral cooperation and the progress of reforms being undertaken by the Government.

Volodymyr Groysman informed his interlocutors about the priorities of the new Government. Amidst the key tasks are macroeconomic stability, the launch of the comprehensive system to combat and prevent corruption, carrying out deregulation and creation of favorable conditions for business development.

"Our goal is to maximally develop the economic potential of our country," he stressed.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the Government aims to achieve maximum transparency in the energy sector, to increase its domestic gas production and de-monopolize the market. To this end, on May 1, the Government introduced the market-based gas price and continued the reform of NJSC Naftogaz.

Also, civil service reform has been launched, which would help overcome institutional weakness and improve the quality of governance in the country. Volodymyr Groysman emphasized that it should be implemented open governance as well as high-quality and open service delivery.

USAID Administrator Gayle Smith assured of the willingness of the US Agency for International Development to continue supporting reforms in Ukraine. According to her, USAID plans to commit $ 142 million in new assistance to Ukraine in support of the energy sector, decentralization and judicial reform, including $ 70 million in energy sector reform in Ukraine, $ 50 million in decentralization and $ 22 million in justice sector reform. USAID is also interested in bolstering the newly established Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories and IDPs. This is part of the package of financial support for the reforms, announced by Vice President Joe Biden during a meeting with the Prime Minister.

Volodymyr Groysman emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation with USAID and thanked for the support. "Your assistance has given us the opportunity to implement many tasks. I strongly support the further deepening of our partnership and expansion of cooperation," he pointed out.

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