Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk and Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Alain Pilloux discussed opportunities to increase investments in the public, private and municipal sectors of the Ukrainian economy.

"First of all, I would like to thank the EBRD team for the fruitful bilateral cooperation: financing of a program on the purchase of natural gas, a EUR 149 million loan for the implementation of the power grid development project for NPC Ukrenergo, a EUR 100 million loan for the modernization of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia and EUR 52 million for the purchase of equipment for workover of the wells and improvement of energy efficiency of JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya," said Oleksiy Honcharuk.

The Head of Government added that as of early October, the volume of EBRD's investment in the public, private and municipal sectors in Ukraine had amounted to more than EUR 1 billion, which is a twofold amount against the showings of 2018 and is a record high volume in recent years. By the end of the year, it could make up to EUR 1.2 billion.

The EBRD Vice President said that he supported the reforms pursued by the Ukrainian Government, as they were major drivers of stability, predictability and transparency of internal political and economic processes, and added that they allowed the parties to increase the pace of bilateral cooperation.

The Ukrainian Prime Minister stressed that reforms were important, first and foremost, for the Ukrainian citizens, and that the Government's essential objective was an anti-corruption policy and the rule of law. Moreover, the core reforms that Ukraine is already actively working on include the opening of the land market, the demonopolisation, in particular, of the energy market, privatization and deregulation. According to Oleksiy Honcharuk, a major aspect is the process of deoligarchization, thus making way for new businesses in the market - and, accordingly, allowing Ukrainian markets to develop.

"The interests of the people, but not the interests of oligarchs, guide the Ukrainian Government in the decision-making process. Compromise is out of the question when it comes to the future of the state," said the Head of the Ukrainian Government.

Apart from that, the Prime Minister of Ukraine highlighted that another critical area official Kyiv would like to involve the EBRD team in is the development of state institutions: "Strong state institutions will shape efficient policies and develop state development strategies regardless of the political class that will constantly change. It is the high-quality state institutions that can guarantee decent living conditions for every Ukrainian citizen."

"Ukraine is of critical importance for Europe. I assure that the EBRD will do its utmost to support you in your path of development," Mr. Alain Pilloux said.

Finally, the EBRD Vice President commended the quality and scale of Re:THINK. Invest in Ukraine Forum, which had been held in Mariupol on October 29, 2019, on the initiative of the President of Ukraine and with the support of the Prime Minister of Ukraine.

Background

The EBRD has been operating in Ukraine since 1992. During this time, the Bank has invested around EUR 14.6 billion in the Ukrainian economy through financing 450 projects. The private sector accounts for 75 percent of the investment.