Shmyhal, Duda open Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction event in New York

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at the UN Global Compact high-level event on post-war reconstruction, which was held with the participation of Polish President Andrzej Duda in New York on September 21, 2022, an Ukrinform correspondent reports, referring to the Government portal.

“An important aspect of the future recovery plan will be the creation of an informal tripartite platform, including the Ukrainian authorities, international partners, as well as the Ukrainian civil society and businesses. It is the private sector that should become one of the main drivers of reconstruction,” Shmyhal said.

In his words, the potential of the entire plan for Ukraine’s recovery is USD 750 billion in the coming years, and this allows the country to encourage international corporations and investors so that they plan to participate in Ukraine’s recovery right now.

According to Shmyhal, in cooperation with international financial organizations, Ukraine is developing several military risk insurance instruments. Such tools will ensure that international companies enter Ukraine even before the end of hostilities.

Shmyhal noted that, within the framework of the Recovery Conference this year, the so-called Lugano Principles had been established. Among them, in particular, there are the principle of ‘build back better’, the transparency and openness of the process due to the involvement of international experts, and the creation of recovery offices in different partner countries, as well as the use of Russian assets as the main source for Ukraine’s recovery.

“We will do everything we can to ensure that the frozen Russian assets are transferred for the restoration of our country. To this end, we propose to approve a new international agreement that will clearly determine that an unprovoked and unjust war has consequences, including the confiscation of the aggressor’s assets in favor of the victim,” Shmyhal stressed.

The Prime Minister of Ukraine emphasized that Russia was deliberately shelling residential areas, hospitals, schools, critical infrastructure facilities, and nuclear power plants. According to the preliminary estimates, over 115,000 detached houses, 15,000 apartment blocks, 1,000 educational institutions and 500 hospitals have been damaged and destroyed since the Russian invasion started. About 25,000 kilometers of roads and over 300 bridges were damaged.

“However, the courage of our people has united hundreds of millions of people and dozens of countries all over the world around helping Ukraine. We must rebuild everything,” Shmyhal added.

After Ukraine wins, Ukrainians will build a new developed European state, and Shmyhal called on the international community to help them on this path.

mk