Page 42 - bne_May magazine 2023_20230503 BRICS

42 I Central Europe bne May 2023
A broken power pole in the middle of the field. Russia attacks Ukraine's energy system. / www.shutterstock.com
On February 15-16 the Rebuild Ukraine exhibition took place in Warsaw, attended by hundreds of representatives of government institutions and businesses from Central European countries such as Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia, as well as Western Europe.
Poland has repeatedly been referred to as a hub for the reconstruction
of Ukraine. Poland is the biggest economy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), it has a long border with Ukraine, and Warsaw has been one of the most loyal supporters of Ukraine since long before Russia’s invasion. Polish President Andrzej Duda was instrumental in pushing fellow EU members into promising Ukraine over 400 modern Leopard 2 main battle tanks (MTBs) and other military aid to be sent to Kyiv.
The issue of reconstructing Ukraine after the war is expected to feature prominently in Polish-Ukrainian talks in the coming weeks and months, as
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the two allies are negotiating a treaty to give their new special relationship fresh momentum.
The visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Warsaw on April 5 could be key in moving the treaty forward and laying the groundwork
for Polish companies to partake in the reconstruction effort, worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
“It is a programme of very intensive co-operation on the reconstruction
of Ukraine after the war, in which the Polish and Ukrainian authorities, as well as international organisations, and financial institutions such as the G7 Group, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund [IMF] will participate,” Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told Wnet radio in early April.
"Polish companies are very interested in this,” Jablonski also said, adding that businesses are asking about “conditions
for economic operation” in Ukraine to prepare to move in after the war.
The minister said that the reconstruction of Ukraine is not
only about reconstructing what was destroyed by Russia but also about building new elements of infrastructure in line with Western standards, for example the European-standard railway or making Ukraine a hub for European green energy.
There are more than 2,000 Polish companies in the agency’s database of Polish companies interested in exporting to Ukraine or participating in the reconstruction, according to Puls Biznesu.
A report by Polish bank Pekao SA said that the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war will expand Poland's economy to €38.9bn, equivalent to around 3.8% of its GDP. Breaking this down, Pekao bank analysts estimate that Poland
will gain €6.69bn in direct benefits