First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko met with President of the Bundesrat of the Federal Republic of Germany, Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Manuela Schwesig. The parties discussed the possibilities of restoring Ukraine’s energy capacities amid systematic shelling by russia, joint efforts to develop Ukraine’s defence industry, cooperation in the field of critical materials and the creation of instruments by both countries to attract investment in the Ukrainian economy.
The event was attended by Deputy Ministers of Economy of Ukraine Volodymyr Kuzio and Oleksii Sobolev, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Ukraine Martin Jäger.
“Germany is the world’s second largest provider of military assistance to Ukraine and one of the largest donors of direct budget support among Ukraine’s partner countries. We are grateful to the German government for its comprehensive support. In particular, for the recently signed Agreement on Security Cooperation between Ukraine and Germany, which is an important step towards strengthening Ukraine’s defence capabilities. I am particularly grateful for Germany’s efforts to restore Ukrainian regions, in particular the active partnership between Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Chernihiv region,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.
The First Deputy Prime Minister also expressed her gratitude to the German side for its contribution to the organisation and holding of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin, where more than 100 international agreements were signed. The total amount of commitments made by the partners following the conference was about EUR 16 billion.
“Restoration of energy capacities is an absolute priority for Ukraine and we are grateful to Germany for its support in this area. We hope that deepening cooperation will help Ukraine strengthen its energy resilience. We also look forward to active cooperation in the defence industry, which has one of the greatest prospects for boosting economic growth,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.
According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, the critical materials sector is a promising area for cooperation. In particular, Ukraine has minerals and resources for glass production, so it is interested in investing in this area.
In addition, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy expressed gratitude to the German side for its willingness to create incentives for business to deepen economic ties between Ukraine and Germany.
The Ukrainian side expressed its gratitude to German donors for their consistent technical and financial support of Ukrainian business and economic development – GIZ, BMZ, KfW, DEG, Sparkassenstiftung.
Manuela Schwesig emphasised that Germany was ready to continue supporting and accompanying Ukraine on its path to EU integration. She also announced joint measures to strengthen economic cooperation at the regional level.