Secretary of State for Development, German government coordinator for international aid to Ukraine Jochen Flasbart, who arrived in Kiev yesterday, agreed on another aid package with Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk and Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development reported.
According to the report, the development ministry will invest an additional 111 million euros in housing for displaced people and in support for Ukrainian municipalities, such as renovating and equipping kindergartens, schools and hospitals.
“Rebuilding Ukraine will be a gigantic task for the country, its people and for us as an international community. And it is already beginning now, even if, unfortunately, there is no end in sight to the war. This long-term perspective and early planning is important. We want to show the people of Ukraine that we will continue to stand with them in solidarity. And we need to make sure that our short-term support matches the long-term recovery,” the secretary of state said.
He stressed that “this is also about investing in Europe’s future, because a strong economic Ukraine will also be an important pillar of our shared European prosperity.”
Flasbart is in Ukraine from April 18 to 19 as the federal government’s commissioner to coordinate international reconstruction efforts. In addition to talks with the Ukrainian government on expanding bilateral cooperation, the trip includes talks with Ukrainian civil society on strengthening anti-corruption measures and transparency, as well as an exchange of views with Ukrainian entrepreneurs. Flasbart is also holding talks with parliamentarians, the Ukrainian Association of Cities and Municipalities and the United Nations.
According to information, Berlin has provided 3.6 billion euros in civilian support to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion last February.
Italy will continue to support Ukraine and will present a reconstruction plan for the country on April 26, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said.
“In a telephone conversation with Dmitry Kuleba, he confirmed his support for Ukraine,” he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
“On April 26, we will present a plan for the reconstruction of Ukraine. We will perform together with our best companies,” he specified.
Tajani said he is in constant contact with IAEA head Rafael Grossi and stressed the importance of protecting the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP. “It is extremely important to protect the Zaporizhzhya power plant,” he wrote.
As reported, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba held a conversation with Tajani on Tuesday, during which the sides discussed new possible assistance that Italy could provide to ensure Ukraine’s victory over Russian aggression.
It was also reported earlier that a conference on reconstruction and rehabilitation of Ukraine will be held in Rome at the end of April.
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel said it is necessary to attract private investment both from Ukraine itself and from the European Union to rebuild post-war Ukraine, for which favorable conditions must be created.
He said this on Thursday in Stockholm at the end of a meeting of the European Council at the level of development ministers. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kurbakov also attended the meeting by video link.
“It is clear that we must prepare ourselves for recovery and reconstruction, which go hand in hand with the process of reform on the way to European membership. These processes reinforce each other. Ukraine needs to move forward on fighting corruption, reforming the judicial system, which will increase the efficiency of spending in Ukraine and create a predictable and fair economic environment to attract private investors. This must be mobilized to ensure that the private sector can play a key role for civil society and local authorities. We must use our funding to attract private investment, both from Ukraine and the EU,” Borrell said of his vision.
The EU high representative stated that the reconstruction of Ukraine will be “the next huge task.” “And the longer this war goes on, the more destruction there will be and the more work we will have to do to support Ukraine in its reconstruction. It is also very clear that Russia must make up for the incredible destruction and loss it has caused Ukraine and its people. It must pay the price for rebuilding Ukraine. To do this, we are working on how we can use and mobilize frozen Russian assets in accordance with international law,” he added.
Borrell recalled that during Wednesday’s informal meeting of defense ministers, defense chiefs discussed military support for Ukraine and today with development ministers discussed rebuilding Ukraine. “Those two things go together. We have to help Ukraine to avoid destruction and we have to support Ukraine to rebuild it. But the less destruction, the better for reconstruction efforts. So we have to send generators to Ukraine to produce electricity and we have to send missiles to prevent Russia from destroying them,” he detailed.
Referring to the participation in the meeting of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Kurbakov, the High Representative said that he “spoke about his vision of priorities.” “It is absolutely clear that we must continue to support Ukraine to win this war,” Borrell stressed.
Italy will organize a conference involving its own business companies on Ukraine’s reconstruction in April this year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni said.
“We talked today about the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine and about the Fast Recovery Plan, that is, the reconstruction now … In Italy a conference will be organized about the reconstruction in April of this year. We will work on its organization. Italian companies have the know-how and the competence to provide, because Italy wants to play a significant role in the reconstruction of Ukraine – starting now,” Meloni said at a press conference with the President of Ukraine in Kyiv.
She stressed that Italy can do a lot in this context because it has tremendous experience in many strategic areas like infrastructure, transportation, energy, agriculture, food, etc.
“Our know-how will be able to give an opportunity and the right signal: what was destroyed will be restored,” said the Italian prime minister.
In addition, she said, holding the international exhibition Expo 2030 in Odessa, where Ukraine has applied, would be a special signal to Europe, namely: “Belief that everything will be fine in Ukraine.”
Also, as Meloni noted, Italy already provides support and assistance to Ukraine in the field of protection of cultural heritage.
The international automobile crossing point on the border with Romania “Diakivtsi – Rakivets” will soon start working, the reconstruction of the border infrastructure has been fully completed, the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine informs.
“The planned capacity of the point per day – up to 300 vehicles, including 10 buses, 1550 citizens, including 500 pedestrians. The checkpoint provides 6 lanes for vehicles and a separate lane for people crossing the border on foot”, – is indicated in the message.
According to the Agreement between the Governments of Ukraine and Romania the border crossing point will be open for pedestrians, automobiles (including buses), except for trucks. At the first stage the checkpoint will be open for the passage of empty trucks and tanks, and later, depending on the creation of the necessary infrastructure conditions and for the movement of other types of vehicles and goods.
To carry out crossing operations at the Dyakivtsy checkpoint a separate structural subdivision of border guards was created. The staff of the department received appropriate training and is ready to carry out border control of citizens and vehicles. All workplaces for passport control are equipped with computer equipment with access to databases, as well as other means for effective implementation of pass operations.
The Japanese government will allocate another $170 million in 2023 for emergency reconstruction projects, particularly critical infrastructure, in addition to the $95 million already allocated earlier this year, according to the Ministry of Reconstruction’s website.
“The unconditional priority at this stage of reconstruction is the restoration of critical infrastructure necessary to meet the basic needs of citizens. This is a necessary step to return Ukrainians to their homes and maintain economic development in the regions,” the release quotes Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Ministry of Reconstruction Oleksandr Kubrakov as saying.
It is noted that the assistance provides Japanese partners with goods and services necessary for the reconstruction. Ukraine will receive these funds under a grant agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),
Kubrakov thanked partners for the support, noting that it is extremely valuable and necessary. Deputy Prime Minister expressed hope that after the war it would be possible to quickly move on to long-term investment projects.
As reported, in early January, the Japanese government allocated $95 million for reconstruction. These funds are directed to the UN Development Program (UNDP) in the framework of a partnership agreement.
