Sawt Falasteen - UK hosts international allies for Ukraine reconstruction

The International Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023, hosted by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is the second to be held since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

The first, in Lugano, Switzerland, in July last year saw Kyiv's allies commit to supporting Ukraine through what is expected to be an eye-wateringly expensive and decades-long recovery.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told them rebuilding could cost at least $750 billion.

The World Bank has since put an estimate of $14 billion on Ukraine's immediate needs for repairing the damage caused by the bitter fighting.

But a recent study by the World Bank, the UN, the European Union and the Ukrainian government said the wider recovery of the economy would cost $441 billion.

Whatever the final amount, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has likened it to the amount of money needed for the US-led Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II.

- Future funding -

Among the dignitaries attending the meeting are US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will dial in via videolink, as his armed forces try to wrest back control of territory seized by Russian troops.

The UK -- first under former prime minister Boris Johnson, then the short-lived Liz Truss, and now Sunak -- was one of Zelensky's earliest and most vocal backers.

According to Downing Street, Sunak wants to underscore the West's commitment to supporting Ukraine now and for the long haul.

"We will maintain our support for Ukraine's defence and for the counter-offensive, and we'll stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes as they continue to win this war," he will tell delegates on Wednesday.

But as well as government support from around the world, he wants to galvanise more private-sector backing to help in the reconstruction.

On Tuesday night, Sunak announced that the UK would back Ukraine to the tune of $3 billion so it could unlock vital World Bank loans to help bolster its public services, including schools and hospitals.

The guarantee will run over the next three years, he said. He also announced an extra £240 million ($306 million) in development aid funding for humanitarian projects.

France is expected to announce funding to help rebuild "critical civilian infrastructure", according to a diplomatic source.

"Reconstruction in itself brings a guarantee of security," the source added, insisting that the aim was to "make Russia know that this support will last".

- Private sector -

The conference will have a focus on the energy and tech sectors, while there are moves to see how tens of billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets can be legally used to finance reconstruction.

Delegates will include captains of industry from major multinationals and corporations, many of whom have signed up to a new Ukraine Business Compact.

The compact encourages trade, investment and expertise-sharing to Ukraine.

Downing Street said more than 400 companies from 38 countries, with a combined annual revenue of more than $1.6 trillion, have already promised to back Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction.

The World Bank recently pledged $200 million to Ukraine to restore its electricity network, bringing its total financing since the start of the conflict to $23 billion.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has committed $3.3 billion to Ukraine in 2022 and 2023, of which $1.9 billion was spent last year, mainly on energy and transport.

EBRD managing director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus Matteo Patrone told journalists last week it expected to sign two agreements at the conference.

The first would be with an agribusiness company while the second will be with a bank to provide liquidity financing for small and medium-sized businesses.

T.Samara--SF-PST