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KIEV, Jan 24 (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday they had a constructive meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Delays implementing reforms have held up the disbursement of funding under a $17.5 billion IMF programme and raised concern about Ukraine's willingness to modernise the economy and root out corruption.
"Ukraine confirms its readiness to continue fruitful cooperation with the International Monetary Fund as an important factor in strengthening macroeconomic stability and an indicator of confidence in proper implementation of internal reforms," Poroshenko said in a post on Facebook after meeting Lagarde.
Last week, Poroshenko nominated a new central bank governor, ending months of uncertainty that had caused the IMF to express its concern over the hold-up.
In a statement released after talks with Poroshenko, Lagarde welcomed the nomination and said the meeting with the president had been constructive.
"We discussed recent economic developments and prospects for Ukraine, as well as the implementation of measures that will pave the way for the completion of the pending review under the IMF-supported program," she said.
"I also highlighted that Ukraine should take advantage of the current favorable external environment to accelerate reforms and transition to stronger growth."
Establishing an independent anti-corruption court, sticking to gas price adjustments and implementing sustainable pension reform are among the key conditions Ukraine must meet to qualify for the next loan tranche of around $2 billion from the IMF.
(Reporting by Alessandra Prentice, editing by Larry King)
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