Ukraine asks Italian companies for help in reconstruction
Ukrainian leaders have called on Italian companies to invest in rebuilding their country, citing opportunities in energy, infrastructure and agriculture. “This War Offers Opportunities for the Future”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said via video conference during a bilateral conference in Rome. This one-day conference, proposed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during her visit to Kyiv in February, brought together more than 600 Italian companies, Ukrainian companies and government representatives.
Mr. Zelenskiy recalled the vast array of raw materials on Ukrainian soil, from iron ore to lithium to titanium. “We can supply all these to global markets and we will”He declared. “To talk about the reconstruction of Ukraine is to bet firmly on its success and the end of the conflict”The underlined Mr.me Melony said to herself “Ukraine’s future is a future of peace, a future of prosperity, increasingly a European future”.
Italy will contribute 100 million euros to the European Investment Bank’s new “EU for Ukraine” initiative aimed at financing reconstruction projects, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has announced.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Kmyhal said six memorandums of understanding were signed in Rome in the fields of environmental protection, railways, agri-food and construction of hydroelectric dams. He added that Ukraine would need more than $24 billion “to meet basic needs such as housing and heating” In 2023. Kyiv’s other priorities include transport, infrastructure and demining efforts, he said. The Prime Minister of Ukraine is scheduled to meet on Thursday with Pope Francis, who has repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine.
Mme Meloni and his ministers highlighted Italy’s expertise in several areas needed by Ukraine: demining, providing agricultural vehicles, and using Italian ports to export Ukrainian grain around the world.
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kuleba, urged companies not to delay investment. “Opportunities are here, now, you don’t have to wait for the war to end”He declared.
The World Bank estimated in March that Ukraine’s reconstruction needs were $411 billion, or 2.6 times its estimated GDP by 2022.
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