One of the main tasks of the Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine is to ensure predictable, rhythmic budget support in 2023. Assistance in financing the budget deficit is critical for Ukraine to be able to ensure social spending. This was emphasized by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal in his speech during the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the Multi-Agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine on January 26.
“We are grateful to the European Union for allocating EUR 18 billion of macro-financial assistance. We are grateful to the United States for almost USD 10 billion of budget support. We expect that the gap between the budget deficit and the assistance that has already been committed will be covered by a new program of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund,” the Prime Minister of Ukraine said.
The second task of the platform, according to Denys Shmyhal, is to plan and ensure the start of Ukraine’s recovery. To this end, the Government has identified four priority areas of funding.
“First. Restoration of the energy sector and compensation for lost generation capacity. We need equipment, assistance in decentralizing our energy sector, and expanding imports. And we need funds for this. Second. Humanitarian demining. In Ukraine, 250,000 square kilometers are contaminated with mines, an area larger than the UK. Mine contamination hinders business development, limits our agricultural potential, and makes it impossible for many Ukrainians to return to the de-occupied territories,” the Prime Minister of Ukraine said.
The third direction, as voiced by Denys Shmyhal, is the restoration of damaged housing. The Government’s task is to give people the opportunity to return home and repair their houses.
“Fourth. Restoration of critical and social infrastructure. In Ukraine, hundreds of bridges, thousands of kilometers of roads, hospitals and educational institutions have been destroyed or damaged, and water, heat and gas supply has been disrupted in many regions. We are trying to repair these damages as quickly as possible. This requires additional financial resources. We also have to take into account the needs of the territories that will be de-occupied in 2023,” said Denys Shmyhal.
The Prime Minister noted that resources for reconstruction were planned to be raised from four sources: confiscated russian assets, state budget funds, funds from international partners, and donations from individuals and businesses. At the same time, confiscated russian assets should become the main source of recovery.
Another key task of the platform, according to the Prime Minister, is to coordinate financial instruments to support the economy and the private sector (war risk insurance for potential investors, public-private partnerships, assistance in financing projects to support small businesses that provide a large number of jobs).
Denys Shmyhal thanked the partner countries for their support of Ukraine and assistance in finding new effective forms of solidarity with our country.