Ministry of Economy and World Bank discuss expanding cooperation in key areas
Further financing and expansion of the World Bank’s Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Enterprise (RISE) programme, technical support for the preparation of investment and industrial strategies, implementation of the joint I_CAN project, involvement of the WB in the development and support of mortgage programmes in Ukraine and other issues were discussed at a meeting between the heads of the Ministry of Economy and the World Bank.
The meeting was attended by First Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksii Sobolev, Deputy Minister of Economy Andrii Teliupa, World Bank Vice President of the Europe and Central Asia Region Antonella Bassani, World Bank Regional Director for Eastern Europe Bob Saum, and World Bank Operations Manager for Eastern Europe Kevin Tomlinson.
“We are actively progressing in our cooperation with the World Bank under the RISE programme and are currently working on ways to expand it. We are also stepping up our work on the I_CAN project, which trains specialists in different regions in high-quality public investment management, project management and donor relations. We see an active demand from communities for such an initiative. For us, the World Bank Group’s participation in existing financing mechanisms, in particular the Ukraine Investment Framework, as well as the expansion of financing for the private sector through private investment funds, is equally important,” said Oleksii Sobolev.
In his turn, Deputy Minister of Economy Andrii Teliupa told the World Bank representatives about the continuation of work on the preparation of high-level documents on the development of the residential real estate and mortgage market, as well as the updated strategy of Ukrfinzhytlo. Work on the latter is ongoing, taking into account the conclusions of the World Bank’s virtual mission in December last year.
“We are interested in continuing our cooperation with the World Bank in this area. In particular, in the coordinated implementation of the recommendations of the technical assistance mission to optimise eOselia, as well as in attracting the WB to financially support the programme. Such support will have a significant positive impact, will allow us to quickly expand assistance to vulnerable populations and attract more Ukrainian and foreign banks to participate in the eOselia programme,” said Andrii Teliupa.
The meeting participants also discussed the possibility of involving World Bank experts in the development of Ukraine’s post-war economic doctrine, investment strategy and industrial development strategy.
“We want the Industrial Strategy we are currently working on to be an absolutely practical, clear and understandable document for investors. It is important for us that our partners and investors understand what our priorities are, what key areas we want to develop and how, and what effect this will have on the country’s economy. The World Bank has extensive experience in helping other countries develop such strategies. And we are extremely interested in receiving your expert support in the development of the Industrial Strategy of Ukraine,” said Andrii Teliupa.
Following the meeting, the participants agreed to continue in-depth cooperation in all of the above areas.
Background
The World Bank is one of Ukraine’s key partners. Over the years of cooperation, the WB has approved loans totalling more than USD 29.06 billion and EUR 2.28 billion for Ukraine, of which USD 27.31 billion and EUR 2.23 billion have been disbursed.
Since the beginning of the full-scale aggression, the Bank has significantly increased its support for Ukraine by mobilising over USD 18 billion in emergency financing, of which over USD 16.4 billion has already been disbursed to Ukraine.
As of 1 January 2025, the IBRD’s portfolio of existing loan-financed projects comprised 27 projects totalling USD 14.84 billion and EUR 1.05 billion. There are also 16 grant-funded projects under implementation totalling USD 17.77 billion and EUR 0.05 billion.