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<\/a><\/p>\nLONDON (Reuters) – Britain is ready to provide an extra $500 million of loan guarantees to Ukraine, taking the total this year to $1 billion, British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Hunt said the British loan guarantees had been important to underwrite a broader $15.6 billion four-year package of support for Ukraine from the International Monetary Fund, whose Spring Meetings he is attending in Washington.<\/p>\n
“This funding will boost Ukraine’s economic resilience and bolster its resistance against Russia,” he said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The loan guarantee was first detailed in a written statement to parliament last month.<\/p>\n
Britain has now pledged a total of 6.5 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) of support for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and the latest loan guarantees will help finance Ukrainian public services such as schools and hospitals, the finance ministry said.<\/p>\n
Hunt also said he had finalised an extra $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.<\/p>\n
“Our support for other countries comes at a time when I am deeply focussed on getting the UK’s economy growing, and our plan for that is working as we’re on track to halve inflation this year,” he said.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday the IMF upgraded its outlook for Britain’s economy but still expects British gross domestic product to contract more this year than in any other major Western economy.<\/p>\n
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% projected for the euro zone.<\/p>\n
($1 = 0.8012 pounds)<\/p>\n
\n(Reporting by David Milliken; editing by William James)<\/p>\n
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