Ministries of Finance of Ukraine and Germany signed Joint Declaration of Intent to strengthen cooperation

Today, on August 14, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko and Federal Minister of Finance of Germany Christian Lindner signed a Joint Declaration of Intent to strengthen cooperation between the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the Ministry of Finance of Germany.

The Joint Declaration envisages that the German side will provide advisory support to the Ukrainian side, in particular in the areas of customs policy, monitoring of financial markets, public investment management, and privatization of state-owned enterprises.

Following the signing, Sergii Marchenko and Christian Lindner held a joint press conference at the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.

Sergii Marchenko expressed gratitude to the German Government for its leadership in supporting Ukraine. Germany is one of the largest donors of direct budget support among the partner countries - EUR 1.55 billion as of February 24, 2022. 

"The signing of the Joint Declaration is another step towards deepening cooperation between our countries. The exchange of experience will allow us to gain access to the best European practices and significantly improve the level of training of Ukrainian specialists, including to accelerate our integration into the European Union," commented Sergii Marchenko. 

The Federal Minister of Finance assured that Germany will continue to provide comprehensive support to Ukraine in the following budget periods and is ready to contribute to Ukraine's recovery. At the same time, Christian Lindner once again condemned russia for its aggressive and unprovoked war against Ukraine.

Regarding the financing of Ukraine's State Budget deficit in 2024, Sergii Marchenko noted that the deficit for the next year is projected at the level of 2023 and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine is already actively working to attract the necessary international assistance. 

The parties also agreed on the need to keep sanctions pressure on russia to isolate the aggressor economically, as well as to monitor compliance with existing sanctions to maximize their effectiveness.

In the context of the reconstruction, the Minister of Finance of Ukraine noted that one of the important priorities is to create safe and favorable conditions for the return of Ukrainians home. 

The parties emphasized the continuation of constructive cooperation to strengthen the strategic partnership between Ukraine and Germany.