In New York, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with executives from more than 30 leading American companies, members of the International Advisory Group to Attract Investment to Ukraine and Develop Priority Economic Sectors (Economic Advisory Group), and U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of the Treasury Jonathan Greenstein.
The meeting was attended by executives from Citigroup, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Lazard, Macquarie, State Street, Jane Street, Fairfax, Fortescue, FedEx, L3Harris, Northrop Grumman, Shield AI, Day & Zimmermann, Prospera, McKinsey & Company, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The meeting was facilitated by Citigroup and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The discussion was moderated by Advisor to the President on Economic Development Chrystia Freeland.
The Head of State briefed the participants on the situation on the front lines and the results of talks on increasing pressure on Russia to achieve peace. The President emphasized that security and economic resilience are closely interconnected.
“It is impossible to have a functioning economy without defense, and it is impossible to sustain defense without economic strength,” he noted.
The discussions focused primarily on how to help Ukraine get through this winter, support the Ukrainian economy, and protect people. There will be new investments in defense technologies and joint production, and agreements have also been reached on joint projects in energy and energy storage. The participants discussed establishing a sovereign wealth fund and developing the capital market, as well as experience with special economic zones and industrial parks for rebuilding regions.
They also discussed developing Ukraine’s economic strategy with support from members of the International Advisory Group and implementing projects in priority sectors.
Particular attention was paid to the work of the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund and the new investments that the fund and DFC are preparing to make in the near future, as well as war-risk insurance and financing instruments available to American investors.
The President invited the participants to work together on priority investment projects and mechanisms for their implementation.
