The Diplomat The Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, inaugurated yesterday in Kyiv the Spain-Ukraine business meeting, in which he offered “the knowledge, tools and commitment” of Spanish companies “to contribute to the reconstruction” of the country after the invasion of Russia. “It is an honor to inaugurate the Spain-Ukraine Business Meeting in Kyiv with the presence of more than 20 Spanish companies,” declared the minister through the social network X on the occasion of the opening of the meeting, organized by both governments in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce and the CEOE and in which the 23 Spanish companies that accompanied Cuerpo on the trip to Ukraine took the opportunity to position themselves and establish local contacts for the development of future reconstruction projects. “We have the knowledge, tools and commitment to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine,” added the head of Economy. For her part, the president of the CEOE International Relations Commission, Marta Blanco, highlighted the commitment of Spanish companies to join Ukraine's efforts for the recovery and modernization of the country and affirmed that the accession process to the European Union generates very positive expectations. “There is already paved ground thanks to the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement which, among other things, has allowed the establishment of mutual recognition agreements on industrial products and work on the adoption of European standards,” she concluded. Likewise, Jaime Montalvo, International Director of the Spanish Chamber, assured that Spanish companies “want and are willing to participate more actively in fundamental sectors and areas of interest where Spanish companies are leaders, have the experience and knowledge.” Yesterday Carlos Cuerpo completed the second and final day of his visit to Ukraine, the first by a Spanish economy minister since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and one of whose objectives, according to the Ministry, was to “leverage the experience of Spanish companies in priority areas to help in the modernization of the country.” Public and private companies participated in the delegation, such as Acciona Energía, Adif, CAF, Grupo Cobra, Matachana, Renfe, among others, as well as the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE). The group included both representatives of large groups with more than 30,000 workers and small companies with fewer than ten employees. According to the Ministry, Ukraine offers great potential for Spanish companies that are world leaders in numerous sectors such as infrastructure construction, railways, renewable energy, technology, agribusiness and health. The business forum took place a day after Carlos Cuerpo and the first vice minister and minister of Economic Development of Ukraine, Yulia Svyrydenko, signed in Kyiv the minutes of the Spain-Ukraine Mixed Commission, which will establish a permanent dialogue at the highest level to explore ways to strengthen trade and economic relations, and will participate in the fourth meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic and Industrial Cooperation, in which both parties agreed on “a very clear roadmap” to start working “from tomorrow” on concrete projects that contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine, as stated by the minister in the subsequent press conference. “To achieve this, we will make the most of the business meeting that will take place tomorrow morning (yesterday) to jointly explore opportunities for collaboration,” declared Carlos Cuerpo at the same press conference, who specified that the different instruments that go to allow Spanish companies to invest in Ukraine, including the Fund for the Internationalization of Spanish Companies. Apart from the business forum, Cuerpo was received yesterday by the Minister of Health of Ukraine, Viktor Liashko, with whom he spoke about ways “to explore ways to deepen our collaboration.” “From humanitarian efforts to broader modernization of Ukraine's health system, Spain is ready to share innovative solutions and experience,” he added, through the social network. Likewise, he met with the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Vasil Shkurakov, to whom he conveyed Spain's willingness to “share our technology and experience with Ukraine.” “We will work on a concrete list of projects to accelerate reconstruction in critical areas such as transportation infrastructure and energy distribution,” he added. Cuerpo was received on Wednesday by the Minister of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov.
