Ambassador Zvarych: Polish business should be involved in rebuilding Ukraine right now
This was stated by Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Vasyl Zvarych during the XVII International Forum "Polish-Ukrainian Business Days" in Warsaw, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
According to the Ukrainian diplomat, the results of the official visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to Poland on April 5 and the memorandum of cooperation on the reconstruction of Ukraine signed during the visit sent a clear signal to Polish business that they are welcome in Ukraine.
"Poland is our main trading partner in the EU with a trade turnover of over $12 billion. Our cooperation has significant prospects for further development on a mutually beneficial and trusting basis," Zvarych said.
According to him, given that Ukraine will inevitably become a member of the EU, Kyiv and Warsaw should develop existing and new models of cooperation in accordance with EU norms and principles.
Zvarych noted that Ukraine has created an appropriate institutional framework for rebuilding the state after the destruction caused by Russian aggression and has identified key priority areas for the current year in the plan for Ukraine's rapid reconstruction.
"We invite Polish businesses to participate in reconstruction projects right now, without waiting for the war to end. We are open to a constructive dialogue, we confirm this openness with our actions, and in the spirit of mutual understanding and mutual respect, we are ready to resolve all problematic issues that arise in the course of trade relations between our countries," the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Poland emphasized.
In this context, he noted that the main reason for the difficulties in the markets is Russian aggression against Ukraine, not Ukrainian products. He emphasized that we need to do everything together to ensure that the Russian aggressor bears responsibility and losses for its crimes.
"That is why I believe that we need to make joint efforts, including at the level of the European Commission, to ban the export of Russian agricultural products to European markets, including Poland," the diplomat emphasized.
He noted that this year alone, Ukraine needs $14 billion for reconstruction projects, and the total cost of the post-war reconstruction process is likely to exceed $750 billion.
Zvarych insists that the Russian aggressor should bear the brunt of financing the reconstruction and compensation for the damage caused to Ukraine. He emphasized that the entire civilized world must join forces to find and freeze Russian assets and direct them to Ukraine's reconstruction projects.
As reported, according to the Polish Ministry of Finance, Warsaw has provided Kyiv with 50 billion zlotys (about 11 billion euros) in aid since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is 2% of Poland's GDP.
About 1,700 Polish companies want to take part in the reconstruction of Ukraine and the resumption of exports of goods and services to Ukraine.
