UK, U.S. pledge allocation of another $1.6 bln, loan guarantees for Ukraine
MOSCOW. June 21 (Interfax) - The United Kingdom will provide $3-billion loan guarantees for Ukraine, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
"Today, we are announcing a multi-year commitment to support Ukraine's economy. Over three years, we will provide loan guarantees worth $3 billion," Sunak said, as he opened the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2023) in London on Wednesday.
He added that about 400 enterprises from 38 countries with a total market capital of $4.9 trillion had pledged assistance to Ukraine.
A statement published on the British government's website says that the assistance package for Ukraine also included loan guarantees from the World Bank and bilateral support from the UK in the amount of 240 million pounds (over $300 million).
In turn, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington would allot over $1.3 billion for an upgrade of the Ukrainian energy system and infrastructure.
"Today, I am announcing that with the support of the United States Congress we will provide more than $1.3 billion in additional aid to help Ukraine toward that goal," Blinken said.
Out of that amount, about $520 million will be invested in renovation of the Ukrainian energy system, $657 million will be spent on an upgrade of critical infrastructure connecting Ukraine to Europe, and $45 million will assist national businesses.
The total U.S. and British assistance package for Ukraine will exceed $1.6 billion.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced a new humanitarian assistance package for Kiev in the amount of 381 million euros.
Germany will provide an additional 381 million euros for humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in 2023, she said.
Tokyo will provide Kiev with $5 million humanitarian assistance to victims of the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant incident, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said at the conference.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said at the conference that Paris is preparing a multi-year aid package for Ukraine, which will include humanitarian aid, and announced the allocation of 40 million euros for emergency reconstruction in 2023.
"Our commitment to support Ukraine's recovery is also a message that we will support [it] for as long as it takes... France is preparing a multi-year civilian aid package for Ukraine, which will include humanitarian aid, aid to maintain economic and financial stability," Ukrainian media quoted the French minister as saying.
Colonna said that this aid package would consist mainly of grants in order to avoid increasing the burden on Ukraine's public finance.
"In the meantime, I am pleased to say that my ministry will provide an additional 40 million euros in aid to Ukraine in 2023. This support will be used primarily for emergency reconstruction of critical infrastructure, medical equipment and, if required, resilience to emergencies in anticipation of next winter," Colonna said.
The Ukraine Recovery Conference is taking place in London on June 21-22.