Reconstruction and recovery projects in Ukraine involving foreign capital should be implemented now in order to scale up the experience gained after the war.
This was stated in a comment to Ukrinform by Burak Pehlivan, Chairman of the Turkish-Ukrainian Business Association (TUİD), following the Ukraine Recovery Conference held in Geneva on May 7.
"Reconstruction and recovery efforts in Ukraine should be carried out today, without waiting for the war to end, in order to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience, the power of the Ukrainian economy, its self-sufficiency, and to boost the morale of Ukrainians and Ukrainian businesses. The reconstruction of Ukraine will be the largest project in Europe and the world in recent decades, and at the current stage, these may be individual projects that, in the future — particularly after the end of the war — can be scaled up using the experience already gained," said Pehlivan.
According to him, trilateral cooperation between countries, particularly in the format "Ukraine – Turkey – third countries", is especially effective.
"Despite the war and its challenges, Turkish businesses continue to invest and operate in Ukraine. We are ready to share our experience and participate in the projects of those countries that are not yet prepared to be directly present in Ukraine due to security risks. We already have positive results and promising cooperation with companies from Japan, Finland, Sweden, Austria, the Czech Republic, and now also Switzerland. We are very active in seeking partners and are happy to share our experience and knowledge regarding doing business and implementing projects in Ukraine," Pehlivan added.
The TUİD chairman believes that foreign businesses and investors should act as if the war could end tomorrow, while also taking precautions as if it will last for a long time. For those concerned about the security risks due to Russia’s war against Ukraine, he recommends starting reconstruction and construction activities in relatively safe regions and priority sectors.
