KIEV, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian parliament has approved the draft state budget for 2020 in the first reading, according to the information published on the parliament's website on Friday.
It provides budget revenues in the amount of 1.079 trillion Hryvnia (43 billion U.S. dollars) and expenditures of 1.17 trillion Hryvnia (47 billion dollars).
According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, the government will prepare a draft state budget for the second reading.
"Now our colleagues are completing the preparation of macro forecasts for next year," he said.
The approval of the budget is a step required for the International Monetary Fund to give a new loan to the eastern European country.
The budget draft predicts a deficit accounting for 2.09 percent of gross domestic product, 3.3 percent economic growth and a 6 percent inflation rate. Enditem
