The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will continue to support Ukrainian initiatives in recovery, reconstruction needs assessment, and preparations for the winter period. This was agreed upon during a meeting between Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, and Bob Saum, World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe.
“I would like to thank the World Bank and IFC for supporting our initiatives. Our priorities will not change, so your help and support are extremely important. The Ministry will take the lead in our joint projects,” said Oleksii Kuleba.
The Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine emphasized that the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development now has another significant focus - providing housing for internally displaced persons, which should also be taken into account in bilateral cooperation. Another task of the state is to prepare the infrastructure in communities and for people who will return from the battlefield.
Oleksii Kuleba emphasized that all joint projects with the World Bank that had already been launched were planned to be continued.
“The issue of preparing for winter and restoring the energy sector also remains relevant for us. Largely thanks to the support of the World Bank, the regions have an understanding of how they will spend the winter. We need to continue energy sector decentralization projects,” stressed Oleksii Kuleba.
The Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine also noted that the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development looked forward to further cooperation with the World Bank in the transportation sector on the main highways and seaports.
The partners emphasized that the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation greatly appreciated the bilateral cooperation and would continue to support the people of Ukraine.
“Our cooperation has already shown good results in the energy sector, housing reconstruction, and transportation. In two weeks, the World Bank team working in the housing sector will continue negotiations with the Ministry on further cooperation in this area,” said Bob Saum, World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe.
Currently, the World Bank has a clear plan for further joint work. According to the World Bank, Ukraine has attractive investment opportunities.