On Friday, May 26, at the Ukrainian Investment Forum in Copenhagen, it was announced that a social program of the Danish Investment Fund for Ukraine was launched, totaling DKK 1 billion ($133 million). In addition to Ukrainian officials, the launch of the fund was attended by Danish Minister of Enterprise Morten Bedskou and Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
Source. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.
"Denmark is one of the leaders in financial assistance to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the russian invasion, total military support has amounted to $1.4 billion, and total humanitarian aid, including macro-financial aid, has amounted to $212 million. The Government of Ukraine highly appreciates Denmark's support and looks forward to deepening bilateral cooperation and further involvement of Danish business in projects to restore Ukraine. Thus, a special investment fund created for Ukraine will finance projects involving the best Danish technologies and innovative solutions and will be available to both the public and private sectors," said First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko.
According to Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksandr Hryban, the main cooperation between Ukraine and Denmark is to establish mutually beneficial relations, when Ukrainian companies not only import Danish products but also localize the production of such products in Ukraine.
"We are interested in Danish technologies, and we see great prospects in the application and location of Danish companies in Ukraine in priority sectors. In particular, these are renewable energy, building materials, technologies for the restoration of public utilities, as well as defense and dual-use technologies," he said.
In addition, the forum announced the approval of funding for two pilot projects in agriculture and agro-processing.
These are the affected companies in the southern region – Nibulon, which will receive a loan of €25 million, and Agrofusion, which will receive €15 million.
Loans will also be provided to agricultural companies located near the front line in Mykolaiv, which will restore destroyed production facilities by purchasing equipment from Danish exporters.
According to Hryban, the Danish fund will not only provide financial guarantees but also provide direct loans. The Danish government also plans to significantly increase the limits and expand the financial assistance program for Ukraine.
"There is no need to wait until the war is over. We would like to involve Danish business in the early stages of Ukraine's recovery. We have to act and support the Ukrainian economy," emphasized Morten Bødskov, Minister of Enterprise of Denmark.
Background. As a reminder, the EBRD will provide an additional EUR 1.5 billion to support Ukraine's infrastructure and economy.