Ukraine and EBRD to work together to increase the number of projects in Ukraine ready to attract foreign investment

The Ministry of Economy and the EBRD discussed the priorities of their cooperation, initiatives to stimulate investment in Ukraine and opportunities to expand the Bank’s portfolio in the energy sector, which now needs urgent restoration.

This was discussed during a meeting between Oleksii Sobolev, First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, and a delegation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) led by Arvid Tuerkner, EBRD Managing Director for Ukraine and Moldova, on 15 July. The event was also attended by Deputy Minister of Economy Volodymyr Kuzio, EBRD representatives Irina Kravchenko, Deputy Head of EBRD in Ukraine, Olga Yeriomina, Associate Director, and Anna Turner, Director.

“The Government is grateful to the EBRD for its support of economic reforms and projects aimed at the recovery and development of Ukraine. We are interested in further expanding our cooperation to attract additional resources to the country, in particular for the implementation of projects in the energy sector, which is a priority of the Government. Among the key areas of cooperation we see are strengthening the work on war risk insurance, increasing the variety of available financial instruments, including for the development of the humanitarian demining market and attracting international investment in Ukraine,” said Oleksii Sobolev.

The parties discussed cooperation under the Ukraine Investment Framework, the second component of the EU’s Ukraine Facility financial support programme. In particular, as a result of the Bank’s signing of financing and pre-financing agreements during the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Berlin on 11-12 June, the EBRD has expanded its available financing in Ukraine during the war to EUR 4.5 billion.

The Ministry of Economy is also working on centralised support for businesses, including the private sector, and will release a Guide at the end of July with step-by-step instructions on available financing instruments (project financing, bank lending, risk-sharing instruments, available grants and technical assistance) for all types of businesses, as well as all necessary contacts with international organisations, Ukrainian enterprises and potential new businesses in the market.

The parties also discussed cooperation within the framework of the Project Preparation Facility, which the Government is working on launching to increase the number of projects ready to attract funding. This will increase the number of projects that will be eligible for funding from the EBRD and other IFIs that have already become partners in the Ukraine Facility programme.