Business Forum for the Reconstruction of Ukraine in Rotterdam
The one-day Business Forum for the Reconstruction of Ukraine took place on June 17, 2022 in Rotterdam.
It was co-organized by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Netherlands together with Foundation OpenDoorUkraine and was hosted by the municipality of Rotterdam.
The event was attended by over 250 representatives from the public and business sectors of the Netherlands, foreign business, Ukrainian and Dutch associations in the fields of agro-industrial complex, energy, medicine, and IT.
Emine Dzhaparova, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Special envoy of the President of Ukraine and Yulia Sviridenko, Minister of Economy of Ukraine expressed their gratitude to the Dutch government and Dutch people for their support to Ukraine in the time of war. The Minister of Economy of Ukraine stressed the importance of granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country for EU membership. This will play a key role in the future reconstruction of Ukraine and determine its development strategy. The plan of reconstruction of Ukraine is now being developed and will be presented to the international community at the Reconstruction Conference in Lugano on July 4-5, 2022.
The business participants discussed the many different fields and ways in which the Netherlands could assist Ukraine in its recovery and reconstruction. They, for example, addressed the following possible areas of cooperation: cooperation between regional authorities, architects, and companies active in the health sector, humanitarian assistance and the ways to make it more visible, Ukraine’s ambitions in the IT and renewable energy sectors, banking challenges and the responsibility of the international community in preserving the potential of the Ukrainian agricultural sector for global food security.
“Access of Ukrainian goods to the EU market will help compensate for the losses suffered by our trade due to the war and the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports. We are grateful to the European Union for its decision in this direction, " Yulia Svyrydenko stressed.
“We discussed how the Netherlands can help Ukraine with reconstruction. It is up to the Ukrainians to determine what it will look like, but many Dutch businesses are ready to help with their expertise”, - said Liesje Schreinemacher, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.