WASHINGTON, March 4, 2022 – Today, World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine.
President Malpass expressed his admiration for President Zelenskyy’s leadership throughout the war in Ukraine, and his and the nation’s heroism.
President Malpass affirmed that the World Bank is submitting a supplemental loan for Ukraine to the Board today. President Malpass noted that the loan, called Financing of Recovery from Economic Emergency in Ukraine – or FREE Ukraine – is being increased with guarantees from bilateral partners, including the Netherlands and Sweden, allowing the total amount of support to increase to nearly $500 million. President Malpass and President Zelenskyy discussed the importance of consolidating development support to streamline approval processes and maximize impact. President Malpass also noted that the World Bank is working to prepare new projects, and restructure existing ones, to provide an additional $200 million in fast-disbursing support by the end of March.
President Malpass and President Zelenskyy discussed the critical need for grant financing from donors. President Malpass noted that the World Bank has set up a fast-disbursing multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) to facilitate channeling grant resources from donors to Ukraine. President Malpass noted that the MDTF has commitments of over $130 million and expressed his appreciation to the UK, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, and Iceland for their pledges. President Malpass and President Zelenskyy also discussed Ukraine’s financing needs, additional funding for the MDTF, and other sources of funds that Ukraine is mobilizing.
