Ukraine and EIB discuss prospects for enhanced cooperation in innovative, education and infrastructure sectors - a meeting of Prime Minister and Vice-President of the EIB

Ukraine and the European Investment Bank (EIB) which is one of the main financial partners of the country are mulling opportunities for strengthening cooperation on already approved projects in the field of innovation development, educational space, infrastructure, energy modernization and decentralization. This was stated during a meeting of Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman with the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank Vazil Hudák.

As of October, the existing project portfolio of EIB in Ukraine makes up 18 projects worth 5.67 billion euros. Moreover, a wide spectrum  of projects covers the reconstruction of the eastern cities of the country and the development of small and medium-sized businesses to improve road safety. Thus,  the agreement on financing of security projects was reached during the Prime Minister’s visit to Brussels in May. And now the sides, among other things, are discussing  possibilities of more systematic cooperation with local authorities in developing transport networks.

"We will be very happy to broaden this cooperation and continue our interaction at the level of the EIB-Government-local governments", Volodymyr Groysman stressed.

"We were very impressed by how much has been done by your Government. It is great to hear that Ukraine wants to be more innovative, more technological, and we are always ready to help you", Vazil Hudák said.

He proposed to consolidate the agreements reached during the upcoming visit of the Head of the Government to Brussels in December and to sign the relevant project documents.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister briefed the Vice-President of the EIB on the current situation in Ukraine. Volodymyr Groysman highlighted the core objectives of the Government, including economic growth,  continuation of decentralization, reform in education, health care, start of a large-scale privatization, approval of the draft state budget that would preserve economic stability during the electoral process.

The Head of Government stressed that Ukraine is currently overcoming serious economic and geopolitical challenges and introducing far-reaching reforms, so the set of financial tools offered by the European Investment Bank is worthwhile. In this context, the parties agreed to institutionalize existing cooperation projects and to shape a joint roadmap for implementation of these initiatives. Vazil Hudák stressed that the EIB has increased budget for projects in the Eastern Partnership countries, and Ukraine can count on this assistance, which amounts to hundreds of millions of euros per year.

The Prime Minister praised the proposal and stressed that Ukraine's economy will grow. "We will offer opportunities to leverage investments", the Head of Government underscored.