Page 65 - bne Magazine August 2022

bne August 2022 Eastern Europe I 65
President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen together with Swiss President Ignazio Cassis and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal meet in Lugano at the start of the Ukraine Reconstruction Conference. Wiki.
President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Odile Renaud-Basso was also present and her bank has already started work in Ukraine providing funding and assistance to the early reconstruction work.
Also present were Secretary Generals of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann and the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric, who all participated in the Ukraine Recovery Conference.
Ukraine has presented a $750bn rebuilding plan. In Lugano, Switzerland, Ukraine introduced a post-war recovery plan with a cost of more than $750bn on July 4, which will include 850 projects to rebuild the country, announced the Lugano conference’s website.
The program is planned for 10 years, from 2023 to 2032, and will take place in two phases. The first will last from 2023-2025, in which most of the planned projects, 580, are to be implemented. These three years will cost more than $350bn.
The second phase will contain fewer projects but require more financing - more than $400bn. During these ten years, the plan stipulates that the Ukrai- nian economy will grow by 7% annually. The most expensive programs are:
• the restoration and modernization of housing and the infrastructure in all regions will require $150-$250bn;
• the expansion and integration of logistics with the EU will cost $120- $150bn;
• providing for energy independence and the green conversion will cost $150bn;
• macro-financial stability will require $60–$80bn;
• ensuring competitive access to capital requires $75bn;
• developing value-added sectors of the economy will cost $50bn; and
• spending in the defence sector will total $50bn.
Platform for reconstruction
The two-day conference in the pictur- esque southern Swiss city of Lugano had been planned well before Russia’s invasion and originally was to discuss Ukraine’s reform programme.
The purpose of the conference was not to raise money, but to lay the groundwork for a reconstruction plan, should the situation in Ukraine normalise to the point where work can begin.
“This platform will be the place to shape strategic orientations and priorities for our common work to focus on future- proof reconstruction moving towards climate neutrality, embracing the
digital decade, building a social market economy that leaves no one behind, ensuring security and defence, and all of it embedded in good governance,” von der Leyen said. “Ukraine will be in the lead. Because our action will be driven by the aspirations and the desires of the Ukrainian people, that is so important.”
Shmyhal made the trip in person
and was accompanied by five other ministers. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reportedly had to cancel at the last moment due to illness.
All in all, around 1,000 people participated in the conference, including von der Leyen, who has distinguished herself as one of Ukraine’s most ardent and effective supporters in Europe.
Full reconstruction can only begin after the war is over, but Robert Mardini, director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, told the RTS broadcaster that some reconstruction work has to begin while the war is still raging to house the displaced and those who have had their homes destroyed.
The effort will require "colossal investments", Zelenskiy acknowledged at the weekend.
MDBs
The Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have all rallied to Ukraine’s aid and will be important vehicles of investment and technical assistance.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced the creation of a new EU-Ukraine Gateway Trust Fund to support urgent and long-term investing in Ukraine's reconstruction. Already the EIB has committed €4.7bn for Ukraine’s urgent liquidity needs and support for Ukrainian refugees and more will be made available.
In early March 2022 the EIB deployed €668mn in financing for the Ukrainian government to meet urgent liquidity needs. The EIB also contributed a €4bn credit line for municipalities in Ukraine’s neighbouring EU countries who
received refugees. Of the total, €2bn was allocated to Poland, the country with the largest number of refugees from Ukraine.
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