At a meeting on May 19, the Government took a number of decisions to attract additional financial resources. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Firstly, the Cabinet of Ministers supported Ukraine’s participation in the European Connecting Europe Facility.
“This is a way to get EU funding for the development of modern transport, energy and digital infrastructure. The total budget of the programme until 2027 is almost EUR 21 billion,” said Denys Shmyhal.
The Government has also decided to apply for a $500-million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a $1.2-billion grant. According to the Prime Minister, this is part of a major cooperation project totalling $16.4 billion plus EUR 1.4 billion. The funds will be used to pay salaries, pensions, social assistance and healthcare.
The Cabinet also approved an agreement to borrow $1.5 billion under the guarantee of the Japanese Government as part of the Development and Recovery Policy Support Project.
“These funds will be used to strengthen social protection and restore Ukraine,” the Head of Government said.
The Prime Minister also said that the EBRD Board of Governors had adopted a resolution launching an increase in the bank’s capital by approximately EUR 3-5 billion. According to the Prime Minister, these funds will be used for macro-financial assistance to Ukraine and for reconstruction. Denys Shmyhal stressed that this was only the third time in the EBRD’s thirty-year history that shareholders have taken such a step and thanked the Bank for its determination, reliability and consistency. (Government portal/Business World Magazine)