The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of the most reliable investment partners of Ukraine, in particular in the agricultural sector. Oleksii Pavlenko, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, discussed the state of cooperation and prospects for further cooperation between Ukraine and the EBRD with the EBRD representatives, namely, Francis Malige, the Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus for the EBRD, and Shevki Adzhuner, the director of the EBRD in Ukraine.

“The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of the largest investors in the agricultural sector in Central and Eastern Europe and the major financial investor in the economy of Ukraine. The Ministry is interested in further cooperation with the EBRD in the agricultural sector”, the Minister stressed during the meeting.

The Minister reported that, in 2015, agrarian enterprises had received the credit resources from the Bank for the total of $300 billion. The priority direction of the EBRD work, in 2015, was the providing of financial resources to the private sector.

“The financial support of the EBRD covers the full cycle of manufacturing of agricultural products from growing to processing and from packing to retail sales. Moreover, the EBRD plays an important role in sector’s development through the support of the domestic and foreign corporate clients, and the support of small and medium enterprises”, the Minister noted.

Moreover, with the support of the EBRD, the Government connected with the businesses in the markets of grain and milk by creating the Working Group for resolution of issues in the dairy sector and the Working Group for grain market.

“The Ministry is interested in the involvement of the EBRD in the projects for financial support of small and medium agrarian enterprises. The Ministry has planned the following work to expand cooperation with the EBRD for the year of 2016:  the EBRD financial support to small farmers, the support of creating agrarian cooperatives (including study tours to the EU countries), the strengthening of legal assistance in the issues of transferring the land ownership rights and the improving of the system of risks distribution in the projects funded by the EBRD in the agricultural sector of Ukraine”, Oleksii Pavlenko stressed.