Next year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will expand its financing of projects in Ukraine. The main areas of cooperation in 2024 will include financing for manufacturers of equipment for demining agricultural land, a war risk insurance project, and lending to the real economy. This was discussed during a meeting between Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, and Audrey Renaud-Basso, President of the EBRD.

"We discussed with our colleagues from the EBRD the current areas of cooperation for this year and next year. It is important for us to increase the volume of humanitarian demining of Ukrainian agricultural land, because we should not wait 700 years to bring life back to the territory where military battles were taking place just a few months ago. We are fully aware that the process of demining Ukrainian territories is an extremely complex and financially costly task. But without it, reconstruction and economic development in the de-occupied territories are impossible. The EBRD is ready to contribute to the financing of agricultural land demining and develop a special financial product in cooperation with banks and the Ministry to finance working capital for manufacturers of demining equipment. This can give a boost to the development of technology and engineering in Ukraine," explained Yuliia Svyrydenko.

The parties also discussed further cooperation between the EBRD and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to coordinate efforts to invest in Ukraine, especially in the private sector.

They also discussed increasing direct lending to Ukrainian private businesses and supporting the liquidity of state-owned companies.

One important topic for discussion was war risk insurance.

"Money spent to support the private sector has a much greater cumulative effect on the economy than direct budget support. But for investors to come to Ukraine, we must provide them with full protection. That is why I am pleased to announce that the EBRD is preparing the legal structuring and management of the project, as well as the preparation of a product for insuring goods in transit and in warehouses against war risks together with Ukrainian insurance companies. In the next stages, the project may also include investment risk insurance," said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

They also discussed the possibility of involving the EBRD in financing government support programmes for Ukrainian businesses, such as the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% programme or grants to support processing industries and small businesses.

Background

The EBRD is currently involved in 547 projects in Ukraine. The total investment of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Ukraine is EUR 18.384 billion.