While last year Ukraine’s main task was to survive, in 2023 we have to return to the growth trend. Even in times of war, we see these trends. The resilience of business and society, macro-financial stability, access to markets, and the start of early recovery give us reason to believe that the Ukrainian economy will begin to recover this year.

This opinion was expressed by Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, during an open discussion “Dialogues on Business. War and Future” on March 30. Organised by the New Voice project, the event brought together government and business representatives to discuss economic issues, conditions for business development during the war and further steps the Government will take to rebuild the country in the post-war period.

“An extremely important and pressing issue for business today is access to finance. We have public financial assistance in place, but the country’s development can and will be driven largely by private capital. By the end of the year, we want to structure a private equity fund with the support of BlackRock and JPMorgan to be able to attract concession capital. This is both access to cheap finance and, on the other hand, a manifestation of foreign investors’ confidence in Ukraine,” said Yulia Svyrydenko.

This year should be a year of early recovery. In this context, it is important to provide Ukrainian businesses with access to finance. The Government will increase the scope of the 5-7-9 programme, in particular, by expanding it to include processing companies. When Ukraine faced the blockade of seaports, it was necessary to preserve export revenues. The development of the processing industry and the restoration of destroyed enterprises will enable the country to export value-added products and fill the budget with foreign exchange earnings.

Yuliia Svyrydenko also stressed the issue of humanitarian demining, which was the focus of the Government and the Ministry of Economy. The priority for today is to clear 470,000 hectares of agricultural land, where both state and private operators are deployed.

“Unfortunately, russia and belarus are a danger factor that will remain a threat even after our victory. That is why our goal is to turn Ukraine into the safest possible space with safe working and living conditions for people. All the efforts of the Government are tactical steps that create the preconditions for Ukraine to grow and recover in the post-war period,” Yuliia Svyrydenko emphasised.