The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) backs the idea of creating a free economic zone in the east of Ukraine, as new jobs will contribute to poverty reduction, rapid and sustainable economic development, greater resilience and prosperity, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine Dafina Gercheva said.
“We welcome the government’s reintegration initiatives: revitalizing local economies has proven to be very important in restoring the economy and social fabric in conflict-affected countries around the world. The conflict has severely affected Donetsk and Luhansk regions, resulting in bleak economic prospects, job losses, migration, poverty and social exclusion. UNDP stands ready to continue boosting local economy, strengthening social cohesion, and supporting peace building efforts,” Gercheva said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine information agency.
She noted that free economic zones have been successfully used as an instrument to galvanize and intensify economies, and the rationale behind this approach is to attract investors and generate employment. “The new jobs will contribute towards poverty reduction, rapid and sustainable economic development, enhanced resilience and increased prosperity. Eventually, such a zone may trigger a structural transformation, which is so much needed to move up the value chain. There are many areas where investment is lacking,” Gercheva said.
Therefore, this initiative would be able to solve this problem and offer new opportunities to local entrepreneurs, local communities, as well as social service providers, who today labour against outdated infrastructure and a lack of financial resources to reach everyone in these regions and meet their needs.
The resident representative stressed that this initiative would be able to solve this problem and offer new opportunities to local entrepreneurs, local communities, as well as social service providers, who today labour against outdated infrastructure and a lack of financial resources to reach everyone in these regions and meet their needs.
At the same time Gercheva noted that the initiative’s implementation is “quite realistic,” but there’s also a need to put in place the preconditions for its implementation, in particular, there is a need for full transparency and accountability when it comes to attraction and allocation of foreign direct or domestic investments. “Public authorities should be able to work effectively on the ground, upholding the rule of law, protecting human rights, ensuring access to justice and information, and addressing the needs of local communities,” she explained.
Gercheva also pointed out the need to restore ties with the population of the territories not controlled by the government of Ukraine.
“I leave the politics of conflict resolution to others, but what I care about – and what UNDP strives for on a daily basis – is to respond to the impact of the conflict: to repair the social fabric, to build forward better and greener, to recover, restore, repair and reconcile. This applies to infrastructure, jobs and the economy, and to people-to-people relations. All of this requires connectivity and cooperation. So we believe that bridges should be built and connections between people should be restored,” she said.
Gercheva emphasized that a long-term solution to peace-building is impossible without ensuring that the government communicates with the people, people keep in touch with each other, and that the systems are interconnected. I mean water supply, environmental protection, healthcare, social protection and so on. I’m convinced that it really is very important to start building bridges and thinking about how we can unite people, so that we can reconcile them as soon as possible and resolve the conflict,” the UNDP resident representative in Ukraine said.
