Ukraine looks for investment in Davos to recover from the recession as Trump calls for peace
While U.S. president Donald Trump called for an end to the three-year war and Ukraine's President discussed peacekeeping forces, Ukrainian officials courted private investors to help rebuild their country this week.
Oleksiy Sbolev is the first deputy minister of economy. He described a $500-billion reconstruction project that would bring both financial and strategic dividends to Western Investors, while Kyiv intensifies its privatisation plans in order to attract foreign investment.
Sobolev, speaking on the sidelines the World Economic Forum annual meeting in New York City, described recent successes with smaller privatisations.
"We are looking to privatise more." "Now is the time to open up the larger companies," he said.
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, told WEF participants on Thursday that his goal is to end war in Ukraine.
"Our efforts are, we hope, now underway to secure a peaceful settlement between Russia Ukraine. In an address delivered from Washington, Trump stated that it was crucial to achieve this goal.
Trump's second administration, which is still in its infancy, has prompted some to redefine the bilateral relationship between Ukraine and the U.S. as a matter of economic interest.
Your country first. "Win with us", suggested the sign welcoming visitors to the Ukraine House at Davos.
The discussion about Ukraine always revolves around... How do we help Ukraine? Kurt Volker is a former U.S. Ambassador to NATO. He said: "We must look at Ukraine as a part of the solution to so many problems we face."
He emphasized Ukraine's potential to produce cleaner, more secure energy in Europe and as a provider of battle-tested weapons on a continent whose defence spending is increasing.
On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy informed leaders that 40% of the weapons Ukrainian forces use on the front line are produced by domestic assembly lines.
Oleksandr Kamyshyn, his special adviser, said that the increase in this share was due to "dozens" joint ventures between Ukrainian companies and Western defence firms who have already invested in Ukrainian facilities.
Kamyshyn stated in an interview that "that's not just a local office or local factory. That's also R&D." He refused to name the partners but stated that more than 10 were German. He added: "They're quite heavy... big names in the U.S. side."
The Russian attack on Ukraine's energy sector, which included strikes against coal-fired power plants from the 1960s to 1970s, has also opened the door for the country pivoting towards cleaner, less centralised power generation.
Vestas, the Danish wind turbine manufacturer, announced at Davos a $470-million deal with DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, to expand an existing wind farm on the Black Sea Coast.
Henrik Andersen, CEO of Vestas, said that it was difficult to secure funding for a project that is located in an area that many lenders view as a warzone. He also noted that the process took longer than usual and that "several quarters" were needed to hold talks.
Andersen stressed that public funding is crucial for the start of a massive reconstruction project.
He said, "The recovery begins before a peace agreement." (Writing and editing by Alexander Smith; Brad Haynes)
(source: Reuters)
