The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank on December 17, 2021 approved the Second Loan for the Development of Economic Recovery Policy for Ukraine in the amount of € 300 million.

According to the bank, the funds will be used to support critical reforms for the country's economic recovery and growth, as well as to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key reforms supported by this loan include:

- assistance to demonopolize the economy and strengthen anti-corruption institutions;

- strengthening the land and credit markets, including increasing access to finance for small farmers;

- Strengthening the social safety net for the elderly to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“With a high level of economic vulnerability, Ukraine is undergoing a slow and fragile recovery from the COVID-19 shock. We hope this loan will provide the necessary support for reforms that are aimed at promoting a stronger and more inclusive recovery, ”said Arup Banerjee, World Bank Regional Director for Eastern Europe.

He noted that the World Bank welcomes the significant steps that the government has taken to advance the historic land reform, particularly in enhancing the transparency of the land market and increasing opportunities for small farmers to obtain affordable credit.

"We hope that these reforms will help improve living standards and about 4.6 million smallholders in Ukraine will be able to get a fair return on their valuable asset and invest in it," said Arup Banerjee.

For reference, this loan is the second of two economic recovery policy development operations. The first loan, worth $ 350 million, was approved in June 2020 to support the launch of land reform, as well as to help the Ukrainian government to grow the agricultural sector and invest in agriculture. It also needed to protect the most vulnerable from the economic shock caused by the pandemic.