The conference was planned before the outbreak of war and initially aimed to focus on the reforms that should be made in Ukraine, especially in terms of dealing with endemic corruption.
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to highlight today the huge task ahead of his country to rebuild after the Russian invasion during a two-day conference in Lugano, Switzerland.
“The project is truly colossal” admitted yesterday, Sunday, Zelensky, referring to the conference, which will be attended by international institutions, as well as the private sector. The Swiss hosts had hoped that the Ukrainian president would also attend the meeting, but in the end he will participate – as is now his custom – via video link.
The task promises to be difficult. The end of the war, which broke out on February 24 with the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine, remains uncertain, despite heavy economic and military aid given to Kyiv by its allies and a slower-than-expected Russian advance.
The Ukrainian Prime Minister Dennis Smigalthe president of the parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk and a delegation of 100 people already arrived in Lugano yesterday Sunday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala—whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency for this semester—and his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki will be in Lugano to draw up a sort of Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The conference was planned before the outbreak of war and initially aimed to focus on the reforms that should be made in Ukraine, especially in terms of dealing with endemic corruption.
Road map
In Lugano, there will not be a donor conference, where each of the participants announces the provision of resources for Ukraine, but it is mainly aimed at defining the principles and priorities of a reconstruction process.
Is this premature as the end of the war is not in sight and estimates of needs still range from a few tens to a few hundred billion dollars?
For Robert Mardini, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, it is crucial to give “a positive perspective to citizens”, as he explained to the Swiss state broadcaster RTS.
The Kyiv School of Economics has estimated the cost of the damage, caused so far to Ukrainian buildings and infrastructure, at nearly $104 billion. The country’s economy is estimated to have already lost $600 billion, according to some estimates.
The European Investment Bank is expected to propose the creation of a new fund for Ukraine, which is set to reach 100 billion euros, sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Britain, one of the countries that is very active in helping Ukraine, will mainly support the reconstruction of the city and region of Kyiv, following Zelensky’s request, the Foreign Office confirmed yesterday, Sunday.
London also plans to work with Kyiv and its allies to host a conference on Ukraine’s recovery in 2023 and set up an office in the British capital to coordinate the reconstruction work.
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