Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko met with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State and Coordinator of the G7+ efforts to assist Ukraine in rebuilding its energy infrastructure Geoffrey Pyatt. The parties met in the framework of the high-level ministerial meeting organised to mark the 50th anniversary of the International Energy Agency in Paris.

German Galushchenko thanked the United States for supporting Ukraine in its fight against the russian aggressor. In particular, for the assistance provided through USAID in procurement for the energy sector at the expense of donors of the Energy Support Fund of Ukraine, as well as for the U.S. contribution to the Energy Support Fund in the amount of USD 25 million. The Minister also noted the importance of bilateral cooperation between the countries in the nuclear sector aimed at strengthening Ukraine's energy security and independence.

Geoffrey Pyatt emphasised Ukraine's significant progress in the nuclear industry. This refers to the production of a new type of nuclear fuel for VVER 440 reactors jointly by Energoatom and Westinghouse, as well as the successful operation of the Centralised Spent Fuel Storage Facility. It is worth reminding that this project was implemented thanks to the cooperation of the Ukrainian Energoatom and the American Holtec International.

Geoffrey Pyatt also stressed that the United States would continue to promote the diversification of nuclear fuel supplies to Ukraine. "The United States has supported and will continue to support the Ukrainian energy sector,” Geoffrey Pyatt stressed.

Another important topic addressed at the meeting was reforms in the Ukrainian energy sector. The Minister emphasised that Ukraine was pursuing the integration of its energy markets with the European ones and that corporate reform was underway. He also highlighted the successful certification of Ukrainian gas storage facilities in accordance with European rules, the adoption of a law to prevent abuse in wholesale energy markets aimed at implementing the REMIT, and the continued implementation of the EU legislation in the energy sector.

The participants of the meeting stressed the importance of implementing infrastructure projects in the energy sector. German Galushchenko noted that one of the priorities was the development of interconnectors, in particular infrastructure projects for the expansion of cross-border overhead lines, which are critically important for both Ukraine and the EU. In this context, the parties discussed the need to increase the capacity of the Ukrainian electricity export to European countries.

The sides also discussed the future of russian gas transit to Europe through Ukraine. The Minister of Energy stressed that last year, with the support of USAID, a stress test of the Ukrainian gas transmission system had been carried out, which had proven that it could operate in the absence of transit.