Major conglomerates, international corporations, retail chains and businesses across the world signal their backing for Ukraine at recovery conference.
- Major conglomerates, international corporations, retail chains and businesses across the world signal their backing for Ukraine at recovery conference held in London
- Comes as the UK announces landmark package of financial support for the country, including $3 billion of additional guarantees to unlock World Bank lending, and £240 million of bilateral assistance
- Prime Minister also signals expansion of British International Investment in Ukraine, bolstering funding up to £250 million
The UK will today set out a major package of financial support for Ukraine, including $3 billion of World Bank loan guarantees to bolster Ukraine's economic stability as it continues to push back Russian forces.
The funding will support vital public services, including the cost of running schools and hospitals.
It is the first bilateral package of multi-year fiscal assistance to be set out by a G7 country, underlining the UK's unwavering commitment to the country, both now and in the future. It brings the UK's non-military assistance to Ukraine to more than £4.7 billion, including £4.1 billion of fiscal support and £640 million of bilateral assistance.
In his opening address at the Ukraine Recovery Conference today [Wednesday], the Prime Minister will say:
As we've seen in Bakhmut and Mariupol, what Russia cannot take it will seek to destroy. They want to do the same to Ukraine's economy.
The scale of the challenge is real, the war brought a 29 per cent fall in Ukraine's GDP last year, but just look at the streets of Kyiv, despite the threat of attack, people are getting on with their lives - and getting on with business.
President Zelenskyy's government is determined to drive reforms to become more open, more transparent, and ready for investment. This is a vibrant, dynamic, creative, European country that refuses to be subdued.
So, together with our allies 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.
I'm proud that today we're announcing a multiyear commitment to support Ukraine's economy, and over the next three years, we will provide loan guarantees worth $3 billion.
President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, said:
The UK Government's generous guarantees to the World Bank Group will support the people of Ukraine at a critical moment.
The World Bank Group is designed to do hard things like helping people rebuild their lives after devastation. With this support, we will keep delivering on that mission and help Ukrainians imagine a life after the war.
The UK's support is backed by a major signal of intent from world leading businesses, with more than 400 companies, from 38 countries, with a combined annual revenue of over $1.6 trillion, pledging to back Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction in the wake of Russia's illegal invasion.
Major conglomerates, international corporations and retail chains are among those who have signed up to the Ukraine Business Compact, which is spearheaded by the UK, as part of the two-day conference. Virgin, Sanofi, Philips, Hyundai Engineering and Citi are among the companies involved.
The compact encourages trade, investment, peer-to-peer expertise sharing and responsible business practice in Ukraine, ensuring it can rebuild as a resilient, agile and prosperous economy.
The Prime Minister will add:
We'll stand with Ukraine as they win the peace and harness all their ingenuity and defiance to build the future they deserve.
The question for us today is what can we do to support this - to fast-track recovery and help Ukraine unleash its potential. We must bring to bear a partnership of governments, international financial institutions, and business leaders, all of us here today, to make this happen.
The British government will continue to play its full part.
The Prime Minister will also launch the London Conference Framework for War Risk Insurance at the summit, which will be backed by G7 members.
The framework outlines support for immediate de-risking measures to increase investor confidence and will guide efforts in working with the commercial insurance markets to unlock private investment to meet Ukraine's long-term reconstruction needs.
The UK is already delivering on the framework by releasing up to £20 million of funding for the Multilateral Investment Guarantees Agency to provide guarantees and insurance for reconstruction projects now while the conflict is ongoing.
The Prime Minister will also announce a major commitment of up to £250 million of new capital for the UK's Development Finance Institution - British International Investment (BII).
The funding signals the UK's long-term confidence and backing for the country and will support private sector investment in major infrastructure projects, energy markets, financial services and agriculture across the country.
The BII funding is in addition to a £240 million boost in UK aid for Ukraine this year, which will fund life-saving projects, including mine-clearance and disaster relief kits, as well as reform programmes and energy projects. More than half of the funding, £127 million, will be directed to life-saving humanitarian support, including for those living around the front line of Russia's barbaric invasion, through partners such as the UN and Red Cross.
The increase will take the total assistance package provided by the UK to £347 million since the start of the invasion. The uplift includes £16 million announced earlier this month in response to the devastating impact of the Nova Kakhovka dam disaster, which has had an untold impact on more than 42,000 people in the Kherson area.
The floods submerged an estimated 100,000 hectares of agricultural area, important for grain and oil seed production in the region.
The uplift also includes £10.5 million announced by the Prime Minister for Ukrainian refugees and the communities that host them at the European Political Community conference in Moldova last month.