The Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Korea has launched a new Economic Innovation Partnership Program (EIPP) with Ukraine for the next four years, for which the Korean government will allocate $10 million, according to a statement on the website of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine on Friday.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the initiative provides for strategic consulting, project development, and pre-project research aimed at long-term economic cooperation between the two countries. It is expected that up to 25 initiatives may be implemented under this program.
During a meeting with First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Oleksiy Sobolev, representatives of the delegation from the Korea Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND) outlined which projects would be prioritized.
The Ministry of Economy, in turn, noted that it sees great prospects for partnership with KIND under the new program, both in the public and private sectors, in particular with regard to possible involvement in financing priority initiatives for the government within the framework of the Unified Project Portfolio of Public Investments, as well as private projects presented in the investment guide.
“We hope that KIND will participate in the technical preparation of projects, as we do within the PPF and PPU with the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Another promising area is privatization, consulting assistance, and attracting investors,” the ministry’s press service quoted Sobolev as saying.
The Ministry of Economy reported that KIND is ready to join the master planning of industrial parks in Ukraine and work on reducing risks for investors. The parties discussed the possibility of involving the Republic of Korea in cooperation with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and export credit agencies to expand military risk insurance mechanisms.
The parties agreed to coordinate work in each area of cooperation and to sign a memorandum of understanding that would allow work to begin on selecting projects for financing and implementation.
The Korean state corporation KIND has been implementing projects to rebuild Ukraine for more than two years, including a transport master plan for the Kyiv region, a plan to reconstruct and rebuild Ukrainian airports, railway renovation, and other projects involving cities and municipalities.
