Minister of Finance of Ukraine and Minister of Economy, Finance, and Reconstruction of France Discussed Bilateral Economic Relations between the Countries

Today the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko met with the Minister of Economy, Finance, and Recovery of France Bruno Le Maire to discuss bilateral economic relations between the countries, Ukrainian cooperation with international creditors, and the fight against COVID-19.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Oleksandr Kava, Government Commissioner for Public Debt Management Yuriy Butsa, French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Ponsin.

"We thank you for your cooperation and attention to Ukraine. For us, it is essential to develop a mutually beneficial partnership between our countries. Lately, we have worked a lot for the implementation of joint Ukrainian-French projects and localization of French production in Ukraine. Today's signing of four intergovernmental agreements for the sum of more than EUR 1.3 billion is a crucial step for the development of strategic relations between our countries" - Minister of finance of Ukraine noted.

The Government of Ukraine and the Government of the French Republic signed four agreements on May 13, 2021:

• To improve the supply of drinking water in the Luhansk region. The loan amount is up to EUR 70 million.
• To improve the water supply in the city of Kyiv. The loan amount is up to EUR 70 million.
• To strengthen the protection of the population, territories, and the environment of Ukraine from emergencies, in particular, the supply of 370 ladders for the State Service of Ukraine for Emergency Situations. The loan amount is up to EUR 300 million.
• Delivery of 130 electric locomotives by Alstom company to the amount of up to EUR 900 million.

Minister of Economy, Finance and Recovery of France Bruno Le Maire shared his ideas and plans for future projects, in particular in agriculture, fintech, biotech, and lithium mining.

Ministers also discussed the economic forecasts of both countries. Sergii Marchenko noted that despite the pandemic, Ukraine has an optimistic forecast for real GDP growth - at 4.6% in 2021. In addition, Ukraine has managed to maintain macrofinancial stability in the face of the pandemic.

Both sides shared their experiences with COVID-19. Minister of Finance of Ukraine informed the representatives of the French delegation that the country is now actively working to speed up vaccination of the population. Despite several major deals that have already been made for vaccines, it is planned to increase the number of deliveries even further.

Bruno Le Maire said that he supports Ukraine in carrying out important reforms, and stressed the importance of implementing justice reform, also a crucial condition for Ukraine to receive the next tranche from the IMF.

In conclusion, the French Minister of Economy, Finance, and Recovery said: "Thank you for the bilateral effective cooperation. For many years we have been working together in various directions, we have every opportunity to strengthen further the cooperation between Ukraine and France. Several strategic agreements have already been signed between our countries in 2019, 2020, and 2021, which are being implemented at a high state level, several more agreements are still at the stage of discussion. I am convinced that soon we will be able to increase the number of joint projects and strengthen bilateral cooperation. "