At the 10th Vibrant Gujarat summit, diplomats from the war-ravaged Ukraine asked India to become a “stakeholder” in rebuilding its war-hit cities and infrastructure, which includes humanitarian demining of 1.56 lakh square kilometers of “potentially contaminated territory”.
At the country seminar titled, “Ukraine -India : Investment Opportunities for a Better Future”, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Yuliia Svyrydenko said, “Despite the ongoing war against our country, we have managed to preserve much of our economic stability... In the current times, there is no embargo on investments. We are starting to rebuild Ukraine now, without waiting for the war to end. We invite India, our reliable partner and voice of Global South, to become a stakeholder in the rebuilding of Ukraine.”
Seeking investments
Ukraine is seeking investments in projects that are “low-risk” and located on the western border of the country. This includes small ticket projects which can be covered by war insurance. Diplomats attending the country seminar at the summit said energy, metallurgy, agribusiness and infrastructure were other sectors where investments were being sought.
Interestingly, Russia too is a country partner at the Vibrant Gujarat summit and it too will be holding a country seminar on Wednesday seeking investments.
Seppo Nurmi representing the European Union at the summit said Ukraine would be needing $411 billion as of March 2023 for rebuilding its war-affected areas. Making a presentation, Deputy Minister of Economy and a Special Envoy of Ukraine, Volodymir Kuzyo said, “The Ukraine economy is getting better. Compared to 2022 when the economy was down because of the war, last year we saw a five percent growth. This year we expect more recoveries.”
Demining assistance
Kuzyo said that despite the war, Ukraine was primarily looking for assistance from Indian companies for humanitarian demining of 1.56 lakh square kilometers of potentially contaminated area in Ukraine. The country is not only looking to assist victims of landmines and explosive remnants of war, it is also looking to procure demining equipment for its government. The investments also include joint production of demining vehicles.
The officials also projected Ukraine as a country with the fifth largest magnetite ore reserves. “We also plan to launch a Ukraine Development Fund to help the private sector rebuild our country,” Kozyo added.