Ukraine’s First Deputy Minister of Economy Denis Kudin: The only way to save the Ukrainian economy is to accept it as a member of the European Union
Aspen Institute Kyiv launched the #UkrainianDialogue project in cooperation with Aspen Network international partners. Its goal is to create a platform for leadership dialogue between Ukrainians who fight for democratic values and other countries’ representatives that support Ukraine. Denis Kudin was a speaker at the second #UkrainianDialogue, which Aspen Institute Kyiv held with Aspen Institute Italy. Denis spoke on the economic recovery plan for Ukraine during the war and postwar periods.
The war for Ukraine is not just a conflict between Ukraine and Russia , but a conflict between Asia and Europe
Denis Kudin is Ukraine’s First Deputy Minister of Economy. The reason for the war in Ukraine was our choice to be a part of Europe, Kudin said. That’s why it is crucial that Europe also accept our country as part of it:
— The war for Ukraine is not just a conflict between neighbors, but a conflict between Asia and Europe, between authoritarian and democratic leadership. We believe that Ukraine has made its choice. We are pro-democratic, we are pro-European, and finally, we expect that the European family will accept us as “one of you.”
We are now working to protect our internal producers
Denis stressed that Ukraine has a GDP shrunk by about 40 percent: from 2 hundred billion dollars in 2021 to an estimate of 120 billion dollars in 2022. He explained that the current Ukrainian economic recovery plan is divided into two parts, Denis said. Some things need to be done immediately during wartime. Some things will be done in the future as part of the post-war economic development plan. The main task of the wartime economy is for Ukraine to preserve its national producers and businesses:
— In terms of what we are doing right now, we are working to protect our internal producers. We have launched various supply-side support measures. We delegated Ukrainian factories to produce food with government orders on the third day of the war. They were able to produce in the regions where we cannot bring food by truck or train.
We have also launched measures to make life simpler for businesses with a large program to aid business relocation.
Four main focuses of the post-war development plan
As for the economic recovery plan after the war, Denis is convinced that the only way to save the Ukrainian economy is to accept it as a member of the European Union within 24 months of a ceasefire agreement. There are four main focuses for the post-war development plan:
— The first one is the access to the markets of the G7 and EU — the most effective tool for a development plan is trade. The second is going forward with measures to encourage migration inflow — we will have to rebuild the country, and bring it back up to scale. The third is focusing on several industries such as the military and aerospace industry, food production, metal works, and engineering, IT. And, last but not least, we will have to uphold the capital investments level at about 35 percent of GDP.
