(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Ukraine and Belgium are stepping up economic cooperation and efforts to further use frozen Russian assets in favor of Ukraine's reconstruction.
The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Economy Ministry , following a meeting between Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and Belgian Development Cooperation Minister Caroline Gennez, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“Last year Ukraine's economy began to recover, but now we still have very limited financial capabilities. Thanks to the tax payments collected in Ukraine, we can finance the army defending the country from the occupiers, and at the expense of foreign aid we can finance the social sector and recovery efforts. To accelerate these processes, we are trying to attract private capital to rebuild the country. Russia's frozen assets should also become an important source of such funding. Russia must pay for its crimes, both figuratively and literally,” Svyrydenko emphasized.
The Ukrainian minister thanked Belgium for promoting the issue of the further use of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's reconstruction purposes.
The parties discussed further steps to cooperate in that area, namely the creation of an effective mechanism to compensate for the damage caused by Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. The mechanism provides for the development of three key elements: the international register of losses, the compensation commission, and the fund that will pay such compensation.
The Belgian side expressed interest in joining demining and reconstruction efforts in the Chernihiv region, as well as implementing infrastructure projects.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the ways to increase Ukraine's export potential and expand war risk insurance programs, including those for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Separately, they also spoke of the modernization of the government program 'Affordable Loans at 5-7-9%', the implementation of programs to integrate Ukrainians returning from abroad into the labor market and entrepreneurship, and Belgium's potential involvement to expand such programs.
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