Continuity of international trade is an important condition for the economic recovery of Ukraine. Therefore, the state desperately needs the support of international institutions and partners in expanding trade relations.

This was emphasized by Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economy & Trade Representative of Ukraine, during the online event “Aid for trade at times of war – the case of Ukraine, organized under the auspices of the European Commission.

“As a result of the unprovoked and unjustified military invasion of the russian federation, the economy of Ukraine suffered unprecedented destruction. According to the latest data of the Kyiv School of Economics, indirect economic losses in the war are estimated at 126 billion US dollars. Significant challenges have occurred, inter alia, in the field of international trade relations. In the first half of this year, exports from Ukraine decreased by 23.7% compared to the first half of 2021. In the conditions of war, it is extremely important for our state to ensure the continuity of international trade, which allows to receive foreign currency proceeds and stabilize macro-financial indicators. Therefore, the expansion of trade cooperation with international partners is of great importance. The European Union has already liberalized trade with Ukraine to a large extent, which allowed us to increase the supply of Ukrainian goods by road and rail transport. We expect that other countries of the world and international organizations will support similar measures, because the expansion of trade relations with Ukraine is mutually beneficial,” Taras Kachka noted. 

The trade representative of Ukraine also expressed his gratitude to Ukraine’s partners and international institutions for the assistance and contribution to restoring Ukraine’s economy, and also outlined the needs for international technical assistance in the field of trade.

Representatives of international institutions took part in the online event and presented their visions of further cooperation with Ukraine, in particular, Georg Ziegler, Head of the Support Group for Ukraine at the European Commission, Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, Mona Haddad, Global Director for Trade, Investment and Competitiveness at the World Bank, Marco Nindl, Deputy Director of the Trade Facilitation Programme of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Aleksander Siemaszko, Deputy Director of the Department for International Trade and Cooperation of the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of Poland.

The participants also discussed the promotion of business continuity, including, but not limited to the relevance of pre-war initiatives for international support of trade relations, areas of assistance in increasing trade, and measures to restore Ukraine.

The online meeting was held on the eve of the 8th global review of the WTO Aid for Trade initiative, which is a platform for establishing dialogue and cooperation between potential donors and recipients.