Oleksii Sobolev outlines key priorities for the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture

Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Oleksii Sobolev met with the teams of the former Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources. These are currently being merged with the Ministry of Economy into a single entity – the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture.

During the meeting, Oleksii Sobolev outlined the key priorities for the newly formed ministry in the areas of agrarian policy and environmental protection. He also introduced the deputy ministers who will oversee these respective domains.

“We are uniting to work faster and more efficiently. Decisions will now be made in one place, without unnecessary bureaucracy. However, this comes with great responsibility – we are now the largest ministry in the Government, with a team of around 1,500 people. The President and Prime Minister of Ukraine have entrusted us with significant responsibilities, so we must function as a single organism,” said Oleksii Sobolev.

The Minister highlighted the following key priorities:

• EU Integration: The Ministry is responsible for harmonising 40% of Ukrainian legislation with EU norms and standards, covering 15 of 35 chapters.
• Expanding export markets for Ukrainian products, particularly agricultural goods.
• Irrigation and land reclamation, critical for southern regions, especially amid climate change and war-related challenges.
• Continuing land reform.
• Deregulation and attracting private capital and investments.
• Increasing production of value-added agricultural products.
• Attracting investment in “green” industrialisation.
• Implementing waste recycling projects.
• Restoring forests and launching new projects to develop the timber market.
• Developing the critical minerals and critical raw materials (CRMs) sector.
• International cooperation in the extractive sector and engagement with the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.
• Conducting Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and maintaining the relevant Unified Register.
• Digitising geological data, transitioning to modern standards for managing reserves and resources, and advancing geological exploration overall.

Oleksii Sobolev also introduced his deputy ministers. Agriculture will be overseen by Taras Vysotskyi and Denys Bashlyk, while environmental protection will be managed by Yehor Perelyhin and Vitaliy Kindrativ.

- Taras Vysotskyi will handle EU integration (chapters 12 and 13 of EU negotiations), state support for crop production, livestock, and horticulture, and policy development in seed production. He will also manage the Coordination Council on Logistics in Agriculture, support alternative energy sources, promote agricultural insurance, and oversee water resource use, land reclamation, and irrigation.

- Denys Bashlyk will also handle EU integration (chapter 11 of EU negotiations), coordinate rural development, land relations, transfer of agricultural knowledge and innovations, implementation of rural development programmes, and securing support for the agricultural sector.

- Yehor Perelyhin will manage policies on subsoil use, natural resources, and the digitisation of geological data, as well as the development of critical minerals. He will drive reindustrialisation and resource resilience programmes, international cooperation in the extractive sector, and engagement with the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.

- Vitaliy Kindrativ will continue overseeing state policies on technical regulation, standardisation, and metrology, as well as the development of industrial parks and major investment projects. His responsibilities also include economic policies for security and defence, state reserves, and critical infrastructure protection. New duties include foreign economic policy, trade protection, safeguarding the economic rights of national producers, export control coordination, conducting EIAs, and maintaining the Unified Register.

The Minister emphasised that a key task is to retain professionals and teams with deep expertise in their fields. Their experience and knowledge will form the foundation for building an effective structure for the new ministry.