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  • Eighth meeting of Multi-Agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine takes place
    Reforms Delivery Office of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, posted 14 February 2024 17:52

    On 14 February, the 8th meeting of the Steering Committee of the Multi-Agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine took place, which was set up to coordinate international assistance to meet Ukraine’s immediate needs and ensure its long-term recovery.

    At the meeting, the Committee and partners focused on the main tasks of the Donor Platform for 2024: ensuring macroeconomic stability and budget support, addressing the priority needs of rapid recovery and engaging the private sector, as well as implementing reforms on the path to Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

    In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stressed the priority of budget support, the importance of expanding the Platform and the use of confiscated russian assets for Ukraine’s recovery. He congratulated Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and South Korea on joining the Platform as permanent members and Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Spain as observers.

    “We must intensify our efforts and synchronise our actions to ensure that frozen russian assets can be used to rebuild Ukraine and strengthen its economic development,” the Prime Minister said. He said that on 15 February, together with the World Bank, Ukraine will present an updated damage and recovery needs assessment (RDNA3). According to the Head of Government, the figure of the needs for the restoration of Ukraine has increased by more than USD 75 billion over the year. “This is an extremely large amount, and without confiscation of russian assets it will be extremely difficult to cover these needs in the coming years,” said Denys Shmyhal.

    The co-chair of the Platform from Ukraine, Sergii Marchenko, Minister of Finance of Ukraine, spoke about the results of the work in 2023 and the financing needs for 2024 in the context of a full-scale war.

    “In 2023, Ukraine demonstrated positive results in the economic and financial areas. Tax and customs revenues returned to the pre-war level, external financing reached USD 42.5 billion, interest among Ukrainian citizens and businesses in government bonds increased almost 2-fold, which allowed us to raise USD 15.5 billion through the issuance of government bonds. The economy returned to growth, and inflation declined from 26.6% to 5.1%. This year, challenges for the financial system remain. The Ministry of Finance is taking measures to reduce the State Budget deficit, but the need for international support remains significant – USD 37.3 billion,” said Sergii Marchenko.

    Sergii Marchenko also discussed with the partners the draft Reform Matrix, developed jointly with the World Bank, which brings together the reforms, conditions and recommendations of the partners and will serve as an analytical tool for the effective implementation of all planned measures.

    “A comprehensive approach to reform is important for economic growth and Ukraine’s integration into the European Union. We recognize the scale of the challenges facing Ukraine. By the end of 2024, the Reform Matrix includes 230 conditionalities and recommendations for Ukraine, envisaged in the key cooperation documents,” he stressed.

    Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, spoke about the key achievements in the field of restoration in 2023 and the priorities for 2024.

    “We are working to implement critical recovery projects that will increase the resilience of the economy and our infrastructure, expand our export potential and improve the quality of life for Ukrainians,” said Oleksandr Kubrakov.

    Participants in the meeting discussed the importance of involving the private sector in the work of the Platform and the establishment of a Business Advisory Council to further support recovery and reconstruction.

    “The expertise and experience of the private sector will contribute to Ukraine’s economic growth by attracting investment. It is important to cooperate with business representatives in the priority sectors of recovery under the Ukraine Facility Plan,” said Volodymyr Kuzio, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

    Oleksii Sobolev, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, spoke about the preparation of the Plan under the EU’s Ukraine Facility programme.

    “We are grateful to our allies for their support and welcome the progress of the European Union towards the approval of the Ukraine Facility. The day before, a trialogue between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council was completed, during which the text of the programme’s regulations was agreed upon. We expect its further approval during the European Parliament’s plenary session at the end of February. Once the programme is approved, we will be able to finalise the Plan for the Ukraine Facility, taking into account the final terms of the regulations together with the EU. At the same time, we are working on the related documents that Ukraine needs to conclude with the EU to fully launch the Ukraine Facility,” said Oleksii Sobolev.

    The next meeting of the Platform’s Steering Committee is scheduled for April 2024 in Kyiv.

    Background

    The Donor Coordination Platform was established to coordinate support for Ukraine’s immediate financial needs, reconstruction and future economic recovery from various sources and identified funding instruments. The Steering Committee of the Platform consists of senior officials from Ukraine, the G7 countries and the European Union. International financial institutions and organisations also participate in the Steering Committee meetings as active participants. The Steering Committee is co-chaired by senior officials from the United States, the European Commission and Ukraine: Mike Pyle, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics, on behalf of the United States, and Gert Jan Koopman, Director-General at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, on behalf of the European Union, and Sergii Marchenko, Minister of Finance of Ukraine, on behalf of Ukraine.

    For more information on the presentation of Ukraine's reforms matrix as of February 14, 2024, please follow the link