KYIV, Oct 10 – The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which on Friday approved the disbursement of $1.3 billion to Ukraine under the new food shock window of the Rapid Financing Instrument, will remain closely engaged with the Ukrainian authorities, with whom staff discussions will start soon on Program Monitoring with Board involvement (PMB), Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva said.

"The PMB will aim to provide a strong anchor for macroeconomic policies, further catalyze donor support, and help to pave the way towards the upper credit tranche arrangement," she said following the Executive Board discussion.