UPDATE - $60B pledged at Ukraine Recovery Conference

UPDATES WITH OFFICIAL STATEMENT, REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE, FIGURES

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The international community pledged a total of $60 billion to support Kyiv's reconstruction at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) 2023 that concluded on Thursday.

The commitments at the two-day event in London are "one of the biggest reconstruction conference outcomes since the Second World War," said a UK Foreign Office statement.

"The URC, co-hosted by the UK and Ukraine, brought together a coalition of thousands of representatives from businesses, civil society and governments from 59 countries to commit support to Ukraine’s recovery as a modern, sustainable and resilient economy."

UK pledged $3 billion of additional guarantees to unlock World Bank lending over three years, and £240 million ($305 million) of bilateral assistance to Ukraine, while the US said it will support Ukraine with an additional $1.3 billion.

Switzerland announced a further $1.6 billion of support until 2027, while Germany said it will provide Ukraine with an additional €381 million ($418 million) in humanitarian support.

A commitment from the EU, which if adopted by the European Parliament and Council of the EU, will mobilize up to €50 billion ($55 billion) over four years in the form of both grants and loans, said the statement.

"As Ukraine recovers and rebuilds, we support its ambitions to emerge with a stronger, more resilient, sustainable and innovative economy," said UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said there was an "incredible level of support and readiness" from Kyiv's allies to help Ukraine in the beginning of the rebuilding process.

"At the conference, we also extensively discussed the involvement of private capital and investments, which will be at the core of our reconstruction endeavours," he added.

- Joint statement by UK, Ukraine

Meanwhile, the UK and Ukraine governments, co-chairs of the conference, in a joint statement after the event, said: "Ukraine must and will succeed – as a free, independent, sovereign and democratic state within its internationally recognised borders."

The two governments also pointed out the Ukraine Business Compact, in which nearly 500 global businesses from 42 countries worth more than $5.2 trillion and 21 sectors pledged to support Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.

The statement said Kyiv is determined to build back a more modern, innovative, green economy, closer to the EU single market.

"The Government of Ukraine reaffirmed its commitment to deliver IMF Programme conditions, including adopting reforms to enable fair and open competition, reduce barriers to entry to markets, and ensure fair judicial and regulatory procedures," it added.

The World Bank estimates Ukraine’s total recovery and reconstruction needs to stand at $411 billion, with $14 billion required for priority reconstruction and recovery investments in 2023.