Volodymyr Hroisman calls on donors' community to collaborate on recovery and growth plan 2014-2016

Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Hroisman has urged the donors’ community to collaborate on a recovery and growth plan 2014-2016 developing by the Government to overcome the challenges Ukraine faces, as well as to return the Ukrainian economy on the path of sustainable development. To such cooperation the Ukrainian official called on at a High-Level meeting on Ukraine: coordinating and implementing the international support held in Brussels, on 8 July.

"Today, Ukraine faces new challenges that cannot be overcome by standard approaches. Joint package with the IMF allows the country to stop falling into the abyss. However, the Russian aggression - military, informational, economic and energy - poses unprecedented demands requiring additional resources", emphasized Volodymyr Hroisman. He stressed that the main contributor to Ukraine today is its people. Millions of hryvnyas Ukrainian citizens are independently allocating to army and humanitarian projects.

"But the heroic efforts of every Ukrainian are not enough. To overcome the challenges that Ukraine faces, as well as to return the Ukrainian economy on the path of sustainable development, the Government has begun preparing a recovery and growth plan for the period of 2014-2016. At one time, such a recovery plan, known as the Marshall Plan, had helped Europe be restored. Today, Ukraine needs this plan. And we urge you, dear colleagues, to join its formation", addressed Volodymyr Hroisman to high-level meeting’s participants.

He added that this Plan Ukraine is going to represent at an international donors’ conference, which is scheduled for this autumn.

In his speech, the Vice Prime Minister assured that donor assistance "will not go on wasting." According to him, in addition to the areas identified by the Association Agreement and the European Agenda for Reform, the Government of Ukraine among the priorities sees the implementation of projects that will lay solid foundation for border protection.

"One day they will become the external borders of the EU. We already have experience of working together on the western borders, now it's time for eastern borders. In particular, the present realities put on the agenda the need for rebuilding the border in accordance with international best practice. Along with adequate technical and financial support, it is essential for us to ensure the functioning of a mechanism of early warning of crisis situations on the border, as well as creation of system of external risks definition", underlined Volodymyr Hroisman.

Among the priorities of Ukraine he also noted projects that would promote adaptation to new conditions of tens of thousands of people forced to flee their homes.

"Internally displaced persons and affected citizens is a new, painful, still unknown to Ukraine problem. It was a result of aggression against Ukraine, so its settlement cannot be postponed. If the question of temporary migrants from the East can be resolved in the near future after stabilization in the region, the problem of Crimean immigrants will be retaining its relevance for a long time," said the Ukrainian official.

According to Volodymyr Hroisman, a special rehabilitation program for the region of Donbas is another priority of our state.

"It aims at providing infrastructure and socio-economic recovery of Donetsk and Lugansk regions, including creating new jobs," said the Vice Prime Minister.

He emphasized that "Ukraine does not need just money. We ask effective assistance for the implementation of specific programs and projects that will support the transformation of Ukraine into a developed European country, economically and politically integrated into the European community. "We offer to implement these projects transparently and openly under the complete control of the donors’ community and its rules."

The Vice Prime Minister invited meeting’s participants to gather and send a mission on Ukraine’s needs assessment, which will jointly define key short-term priorities and required resources. He also called on Ukraine's partners to form together a committee on preparing an international donors’ conference.