The Economic and Investment Plan of the Eastern Partnership initiative will create new jobs and opportunities for Ukrainian business, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said at a meeting with EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi in Brussels.
The key topic of the talks was the Economic and Investment Plan of the Eastern Partnership, which would create new opportunities for the Ukrainian economy and Ukrainian business.
The parties discussed the key projects that the EU’s investment plan would help implement in Ukraine, including support for 100,000 small and medium-sized Ukrainian enterprises, the development of innovative and competitive economy, additional opportunities for more than 10,000 small farms, economic transformation of rural areas, modernization of border crossing points, accelerating the digital transformation and modernization of public IT infrastructure, improving energy efficiency and supporting the production of green hydrogen in Ukraine.
According to Kuleba, the Economic and Investment Plan of the Eastern Partnership will attract large-scale European investments to Ukraine.
“In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are working to support small and medium-sized businesses, create additional opportunities for small farmers, and modernize our infrastructure, energy and economy. We can achieve these goals thanks to such an ambitious plan, and we are grateful to the EU for its readiness to develop investment cooperation with Ukraine,” he said.
Kuleba invited the European commissioner to visit Ukraine to discuss the details of the implementation of these and other projects.
“Implementing the projects of this investment plan will bring positive and tangible results for Ukrainian citizens, entrepreneurs, farmers, small and medium-sized businesses, create new jobs and increase revenues to the Ukrainian budget,” he said.
In addition, both parties paid special attention to strengthening the energy security of Ukraine and Europe as a whole.
The Eastern Partnership’s Economic and Investment Plan is an EU plan for further cooperation with the Eastern Partnership countries, backed by a EUR 2.3-billion investment package in the form of grants, blending and guarantees, with a potential to mobilize up to EUR 17 billion in public and private investments.
The plan is aimed at increasing trade, growth and jobs, investing in connectivity, strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law, supporting the green and digital transitions, and promoting fair, gender-equal and inclusive societies. (Ukrinform/Business World Magazine)