The Ukrainian side presented to the German delegation both the urgent needs of the energy sector arising after the recent missile attacks from Russia and investment opportunities in key sectors of the domestic economy, including energy, transportation and logistics, agro-processing, extraction of critical materials, and green metallurgy. This was conveyed during a meeting with Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection of Germany, Robert Habeck, by First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy Yuliya Svyrydenko.
Also present at the meeting were Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Rostyslav Shurma, Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Galushchenko, Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleksandr Kamishin, as well as representatives of major Ukrainian and German companies.
"I would like to express gratitude to Germany, which has been actively supporting our army with military aid for two years, providing assistance to our refugees, and supporting our economy. I am grateful to the Federal Government for comprehensive and significant support. Since the beginning of full-scale aggression, we have received a total of 32.2 billion euros from you. Germany is also the locomotive of defense support for Ukraine. I highly appreciate that this year the volume of such assistance to our armed forces is included in the federal budget at the level of 7.1 billion euros.
As Minister of Economy, I cannot ignore economic support, particularly from the private sector. Your companies are a true example for other international partners. They not only continue to operate in our market but also invest in new productions," emphasized Yuliya Svyrydenko.
She mentioned that last year, the Government of Germany and the insurance company Euler Hermes extended the implementation of the investment guarantee program. Currently, there are 46 guarantees in Ukraine totaling around 340 million euros, and the volume of exports under German guarantees in 2023 amounted to about 170 million euros.
"We have successful examples of joint ventures and localization of German production in Ukraine, especially in the defense sector. I am confident that our countries have even greater potential for cooperation in many sectors of the economy. We have identified the most promising sectors for investment that may interest German companies. These are energy, transportation and logistics, the agro-processing complex, the production of critical materials, and green steel," continued Yuliya Svyrydenko.
Currently, in the energy sector, there are over 200 promising projects totaling $60 billion, including wind and solar power plants, decentralized generation, biofuel stations, and the extraction of natural gas and oil.
Special attention was paid to the development of distributed generation in Ukraine. After Russia destroyed part of the electricity generation, projects to build new small-scale cogeneration facilities become particularly relevant. During the discussion, the parties discussed the possibilities of using German and Ukrainian components for the construction of a branched generation system.
In the transportation and logistics sectors, Ukrainian business presented 73 promising projects totaling $2.7 billion, including projects in railway, maritime, and river transport, as well as export logistics. In the agro-processing sector, over 80 most promising projects totaling over $2.9 billion were demonstrated.
The prospects of involving German business in sectors of increased production and processing of lithium, graphite, titanium, nickel, and other critical materials were also discussed. Along with the production of "green steel," there are 55 projects in these sectors totaling $8.2 billion.
The German side expressed solidarity with Ukraine in the war against Russia and promised to continue providing both military and economic assistance.
