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The Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce contributed to the Business Forum „Rapid Recovery of Ukraine”, organised by the Ukraine-Luxembourg Business Club asbl on 31 January 2023 at the Neumünster Abbey. This Luxembourg-Ukrainian Business Forum united more than 300 participants from government, private sector and academia.
The Opening Ceremony included opening remarks by Mrs. Evgenia Paliy, President of the Ukraine-Luxembourg Business Club asbl, Mr. Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Mr. Denys Shmyhal, the Prime Minister of Ukraine (via a video link), Mr. Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank, Mr. Luc Frieden, President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Michel Wurth, Board Member at ArcelorMittal, and Mrs. Natalya Anoshyna, Chargée d’Affaires at the Embassy of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Belgium and to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Invited speakers recalled that the process of Rapid Recovery of Ukraine requires a comprehensive assessment of immediate and long-term needs. Mr. Luc Frieden, President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, underlined that the private sector plays a key role in the recovery of Ukraine, by applying its expertise and know-how in reconstruction. Mr. Frieden stressed out that the best practices should come from the European level and that the private sector should work in partnership with Ukrainian companies, as both sides have valuable knowledge and experience to share. The Luxembourg business community has a potential for a strong partnership with Ukraine and this Forum was one of the opportunities to further strengthen it.
The first plenary panel “The Current Picture: Economy, Support and Reconstruction” brought together a wide range of speakers under the moderation of Mr. Jean-Erik de Zagon, Head of EIB Representation to Ukraine at the European Investment Bank. The list of orators included Mrs. Paulette Lenert, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Health, Minister Delegate of Social Security and Minister of Consumer Protection of Luxembourg, Mr. Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy of Luxembourg, Mrs. Oleksandra Azarkhina, Deputy Minister of Community Development, Territory and Infrastructure of Ukraine, Mrs. Olha Zykova, Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Yuriy Zarko, Mayor of Bilopillia, Mr. Serhiy Morhunov, Mayor of Vinnytsia, Gabriel Blanc, Support Group for Ukraine, DG NEAR, European Commission, Mr. Markus Berndt, Deputy Director General of EIB Global, Mr. Vijay Goyal, CEO at ArcelorMittal CIS, Mr. Lisa Kaestner, IFC Regional Manager for Ukraine and Moldova at the International Finance Corporation. Speakers from Luxembourg and Ukraine showcased national and international approaches to the early and long-term recovery of Ukraine and forecasted synergies between two countries, while taking the existing efforts of international organisations and other countries into account.
This session was followed by several panel discussions and roundtables, addressing topics such as reconstruction investment, creating a favorable investment climate, supporting and maintaining the educational sector and analysing economic collaboration potential in the fields of cybersecurity, startups and aerospace.
The multidimensional discussions in the framework of the Ukraine-Luxembourg Business Forum highlighted the current Ukrainian status quo in various economic areas and the potential journey of connecting the Luxembourg investment community with the Ukrainian market. Overall, this Forum aimed at facilitating private and public partnerships by identifying key priority areas for investments not only in a post-war scenario but in the current situation in order to make Ukraine’s economy as resilient as possible.
