Taras Kachka: Three Seas Initiative could become a platform for implementing projects to restore Ukraine

Cooperation under the Three Seas Initiative in the energy, transport and digital sectors, as well as the creation of an economic and infrastructure framework for Ukraine’s accelerated integration into the European Union, were discussed during the panel discussion “Building the Three Seas as a partner for Ukraine’s European future” at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 16 January.

“At the end of 2023, Ukraine became an associate partner of the Three Seas Initiative. As part of the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Sea Initiative, member states have granted Ukraine the status of a partner of the group and supported its efforts to join the EU. The Government of Ukraine highly appreciates the support of our European partners, as such cooperation will strengthen the role of Central and Eastern Europe in rebuilding Ukraine and attracting the investments needed to promote the development of Ukraine’s infrastructure,” said Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Representative of Ukraine, in his opening speech.

The Deputy Minister stressed that the Three Seas countries were Ukraine’s link to the free world. Indeed, the important supply of military equipment to Ukraine to combat russian aggression, fuel supplies, the preservation of vital transport flows, green corridors for the export of Ukrainian food, and human migration all run through the territory of the Initiative’s member states.

“We hope that the Three Seas states will join the creation of an international guarantee scheme for war risk insurance, the implementation of which would accelerate the flow of investors to Ukraine. In addition, given Ukraine’s need for reconstruction, the Three Seas Initiative could also consider launching ideas for projects that could be jointly implemented by the Three Seas states and Ukraine. We also have something to offer the member states of the initiative. Ukraine is interested in diversifying its energy supplies and is already participating in the North-South gas corridor project, which began transporting Norwegian gas in 2023. Thus, Poland would act as a transit country for Ukraine, which would also be financially beneficial for Warsaw,” said Taras Kachka.

Background

The Three Seas Initiative currently brings together 12 countries from Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic States: Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia, and Croatia.