THE WASHINGTON FOREIGN PRESS CENTER, WASHINGTON, D.C.
MODERATOR: Okay, we’ll go ahead and get started. Good afternoon, and welcome to the Washington Foreign Press Center’s briefing on Strengthening Partnerships: Update on Ukraine’s Economic Recovery. My name is Doris Robinson, and I am the briefing moderator. As a reminder, this briefing is on the record. We will post a transcript later today at fpc.state.gov. For journalists joining on Zoom, please make sure that your name and media outlet is in your chat window.
And now I will introduce our briefer. Our briefer today is Penny Pritzker, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery. She will start us off with opening remarks, and then after that we will take your questions. Over to you.
MS PRITZKER: Great, thank you. And good afternoon, everyone. I just got back from two trips to Ukraine over the last two weeks. The feeling on the ground has changed remarkably even since my last trip in January. There are real consequences to our failure to get Ukraine the assistance that it needs. Vladimir Putin is attacking Ukraine’s energy system, hitting thermal and hydropower generation facilities, substations, and transmission and distribution networks – leaving hundreds of thousands without power. Ukraine is losing ground on the battlefield because of the congressional inaction, and every single day is only further emboldening Putin’s aggression.
This is a critical week on the Hill. Let me be clear – 784 days into Russia’s full-scale invasion, the House must act to provide the crucial security, economic, and humanitarian lifeline that Ukraine needs. And they must act now. The American people support Ukraine, and we cannot abandon them in their time of need.
We must also stay united and coordinated with our G7, European, and other partners through this challenging period. On my trip to Kyiv last week, the Multi-Donor Coordination Platform, or MDCP, held its first steering committee meeting there since the war. This group is a testament to what the international donor community is able to do when it collaborates. I’m proud to say that with our efforts, the MDCP is on track to launch a business advisory council at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin in June.
In order to defeat Putin, it is not only going to take a sustained commitment from governments, but also increased private sector engagement, like a business advisory council, to be more agile and responsive to the complex and rapidly changing environment in Ukraine.
I also want to underline that supporting Ukraine is a vital interest for both the United States and its allies. Ukrainians are fighting bravely to protect not only their sovereign and territorial integrity, but the European Atlantic system of democracy, and the very values that allow the U.S. and Europe to live in freedom and prosper.
The threat from Putin does not end at Ukraine’s borders – he has said as much. Part of Putin’s war strategy is to try and destroy Ukraine’s economy. Since my appointment as special representative for Ukraine’s economic recovery by President Biden, I have been working with the Ukrainians, our allies, and other partners, as well as the private sector, to strengthen the enabling environment for private sector investment, and working across key sectors to boost Ukraine’s economy now. Why now? Because a functioning Ukrainian economy is both key to its war effort and to its achieving its Euro-Atlantic goals.
I’m pleased to say the Ukrainian economy, just like its military, remains alive, active, and resilient. The GDP is expected to grow at around 4 percent in 2024, after 5 percent growth last year. State revenue increased 25 percent in January 2024 over the previous year, and 2023 saw investment up 17 percent with over 37,000 new businesses registered in Ukraine – more than half…
This article was originally published by a www.state.gov . Read the Original article here. .