On March 23, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal met with the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Odile Renaud-Basso. The parties tackled the development of bilateral cooperation and the preparation of new joint projects.

Denys Shmyhal congratulated Ms. Odile Renaud-Basso on her appointment as President of the EBRD and noted that Ukraine hopes for further development of mutually beneficial cooperation.

"We are grateful for the professional support of the EBRD, in particular in addressing the issues of reforming and improving the corporate governance of key state-owned enterprises. This is an extremely difficult but crucial reform, and everything possible to ensure its progress has been made due to our joint efforts," said the Prime Minister.

The Head of Government stressed that the Ukrainian side is particularly interested in implementing joint projects with the EBRD to modernize and further develop transport infrastructure as well as to support the energy sector.

"We offer the EBRD to join the implementation of new concession projects, in particular the execution of the public-private partnership program in the road sector," emphasized Denys Shmyhal.

Apart from that, the Prime Minister noted that Ukraine hopes for constructive cooperation with the EBRD, which will allow not only to expand the range of industries and activities but also to ensure positive dynamics in the number of projects and the achievement of significant results.

In turn, Ms. Odile Renaud-Basso noted that the EBRD would prolong support for the implementation of reforms that contribute to creating a credible and predictable business environment in Ukraine.

"As the largest foreign investor in the country, the EBRD is firmly committed to Ukraine and has an ambitious agenda for 2021. We will continue to focus on the private sector, including banks and small businesses, and on projects that help to transfer the economy towards a green economy," said the EBRD President.