Supporting Ukraine with weapons, financial assistance, sanctions against russia and attracting investment in our economy. These issues were highlighted by First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko during a dedicated session “Ukraine: What Next?” at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

According to the First Deputy Prime Minister, the main issue for us now is the ability to resist russia and protect our people and Ukrainian territories.

“Thus, the most important thing is to strengthen military support for Ukraine. At the end of this week (January 20) a regular meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (Ramstein) will be held. The pictures from Dnipro and many other cities show why we need all the crucial missile defenses. We also require tanks and heavy weapons to push the russians out of our territory. This is the next step we need,” stated Yuliia Svyrydenko.

The next step, according to the First Deputy Prime Minister, will be the restoration of peace and justice.

“President Zelenskyy started a broad discussion on the principles of peace by presenting 10 elements of the peace formula. We expect a deep discussion between world leaders at the summit on the peace formula in late February,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

In order to get russia out of the territory of Ukraine as soon as possible, she called for increasing sanctions pressure on the aggressor country.

“Despite the already imposed sanctions, russia is aggravating the situation at the front. We can see it in Soledar and Bakhmut, where they are losing hundreds of mobilized servicemen and mercenaries every day, but stubbornly continue to attack. Therefore, there should be more sanctions. They have already lost a lot of revenues from gas and oil, but we need to do more, especially regarding the circumvention of sanctions,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

According to her, russia failed to freeze Europe this winter, and thanks to the financial support of partners, Ukraine managed to withstand ensuring relative stability of public finances.

“This year, in cooperation with the IMF and with the support of the EU, the US and other partners, we will ensure macro-financial stability. Last year we worked intensively with international financial organizations on their strategies for Ukraine.

In 2023, we want to make sure that plans and strategies lead to major recovery projects. Therefore, we need your expertise and technology to rebuild infrastructure so that it meets requirements for climate protection, efficiency and resilience. This is a call to companies from all over the world to take part in the revival of Ukraine,” Yuliia Svyrydenko said.

According to the First Deputy Prime Minister, right now private business has the best chances to start investing in Ukraine and gain corresponding advantages over competitors.

“Most of all, we want this year to become a year of private investment in development of the Ukrainian economy. The restoration and development of agricultural processing, the digital economy, the modernization of the steel industry, the military industry, and the friendshoring for Europe are the areas where we see many opportunities for private investment.

To this end, we are working with MIGA and relevant national institutions – UKEF, DFC, and others – to insure investments against war risks in Ukraine. Our campaign to attract investment is called Advantage Ukraine. This is not a motto – it is a statement of fact. Ukraine is an advantage for your business. So, we are waiting for the next step – for you to apply this advantage in practice,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

For reference

The World Economic Forum in Davos this year takes place from 16th to 20th January. Not a single representative from russia has been invited.