On May 26, the Ukrainian Investment Forum was held in Copenhagen and opened by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko. The event was attended by Deputy Minister Oleksandr Hryban, Danish Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs Morten Bødskov, and Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
During the forum, it was announced that a social programme of the Danish Investment Fund for Ukraine will be launched, totalling DKK 1 billion, which is approximately USD 133 million.
“Denmark is one of the leaders in providing financial assistance to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, total military support has amounted to USD 1.4 billion, and total humanitarian assistance, including macro-financial assistance, has amounted to USD 212 million. The Government of Ukraine highly appreciates Denmark’s support and looks forward to deepening bilateral cooperation and further involvement of Danish businesses in projects to restore Ukraine. Thus, the special investment fund created for Ukraine will finance projects involving the best Danish technologies and innovative solutions and will be available to both the public and private sectors,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.
Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksandr Hryban said that the main cooperation between Ukraine and Denmark was to establish mutually beneficial relations when Ukrainian companies not only import Danish products but also localise the production of such products in Ukraine.
“We are interested in Danish technologies and see great prospects in the application and deployment of Danish companies in Ukraine in priority sectors. In particular, these are renewable energy, construction materials, utility rehabilitation technologies, as well as defence and dual-use technologies,” said Oleksandr Hryban.
Thus, it was announced during the forum that financing for two pilot projects in the field of agriculture and agro-processing was approved. These are the affected companies in the southern region – Nibulon, which will receive a EUR 25 million loan, and Agrofusion, which will receive a EUR 15 million loan. Loans will also be provided to agricultural companies located near the front line in Mykolaiv, which will rebuild their destroyed production facilities by purchasing equipment from Danish exporters.
According to Oleksandr Hryban, the Danish fund will not only provide financial guarantees but also provide direct lending, which puts it on a separate level from the financial institutions that have opened their programmes for Ukraine. The Danish Government also plans to significantly increase the limits and expand the financial assistance programme for Ukraine.
“There is no need to wait until the war is over. We would like to involve Danish business in the early stages of Ukraine’s reconstruction. We have to act and support the Ukrainian economy,” said Morten Bødskov, Minister for Industry, Business and Financial Affairs of Denmark.
Source: https://www.kmu.gov.ua
