Eduardo González
First Vice President and Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, signed several agreements in Kyiv on Wednesday to mobilize €570 million in financial instruments to support Spanish companies wishing to develop projects in Ukraine.
“Spain can continue to play an important role for Ukraine, first and foremost, of course, by supporting its right to sovereignty and to defend its country,” the minister stated during the Spain-Ukraine Business Meeting. The Vice President was accompanied by the Ukrainian Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, Oleksii Sobolev, with whom he had met earlier to discuss Spanish aid for reconstruction and to attend the signing of the agreements.
In economic terms, it is necessary “to have a long-term vision, looking at prosperity and how to rebuild a country, and how to rebuild it better,” and for this reason, “we have created a specific office for the reconstruction of Ukraine” within the Ministry itself, continued Cuerpo, who is traveling with some fifty Spanish companies to promote investment and cooperation opportunities in sectors such as energy, rail, defense, and digitalization, and to support the country’s reconstruction. This is the largest Spanish business mission to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
The business meeting (organized by the Spanish State Secretariat for Trade, through ICEX, the Economic and Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy in Kyiv, and the Spanish Office for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, in collaboration with the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations, CEOE, and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce) brought together 140 Spanish and Ukrainian companies linked to key sectors for the country’s recovery and modernization, such as renewable energy, strategic industries, rail transport, and digitalization.
Furthermore, Cuerpo continued, the Spanish government is interested in developing specific financial support “to enable companies to participate in projects selected and prioritized by the Ukrainian authorities.” To that end, he specified, the Spanish Government has improved Spanish public financing instruments – through FIEM, ICO, Cesce and COFIDES – to boost the participation of Spanish companies in priority projects for the reconstruction of Ukraine and will mobilize, with that objective, “570 million euros in financing and guarantees so that our companies can develop these projects here in Ukraine.”
Financial instruments
Among the measures being implemented through the agreements signed in Ukraine is the expansion of a risk coverage line for Spanish companies carrying out export or internationalization operations in the country, from €30 million to €250 million. The Cesce coverage guarantees the necessary insurance to cover potential risks arising from the country’s war situation.
For its part, COFIDES has created a line of credit of up to €100 million to support investment projects by the Spanish private sector that generate tangible benefits for Ukraine. This line will focus primarily on strategic sectors such as defense, energy, infrastructure, transport, water, and agribusiness, while maintaining the flexibility to consider other opportunities that contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Likewise, the Official Credit Institute (ICO) has signed an agreement with Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine to open a €20 million credit line, covered by Cesce on behalf of the State, aimed at small Ukrainian companies developing projects linked to Spanish companies in Ukraine.
To complement these lines of financing, the Fund for the Internationalization of Companies (FIEM) has increased to €200 million the funds that can be specifically allocated to the country. Four projects have already been launched under this funding, including the financing of a strategy to safely restore the air traffic management and communications system of Ukraine’s main airport. This strategy, signed during the visit, will be developed by the Spanish company ALG in collaboration with UkSATSE, the state entity responsible for providing air navigation services in the country.
“With these initiatives, the Government of Spain seeks to consolidate the presence of Spanish companies in the reconstruction process of Ukraine and contribute to identifying, together with the Ukrainian authorities, the priority areas to which this funding should be allocated,” the Vice President stated.
To facilitate the implementation of financial instruments, a Letter of Intent was signed this Wednesday outlining a new International Agreement in this area, and a joint declaration was signed for Spain’s participation in the ‘Industrial Ramstein’ instrument, created to facilitate the import of capital goods for Ukrainian companies affected by the attacks.
Carlos Cuerpo also offered the “experience, knowledge, and willingness” of the fantastic Spanish business community. “Many of them were here before the invasion, and some of them are now finding great opportunities” thanks to “the combination of what Spanish companies excel at and the specific needs of Ukraine’s reconstruction,” he continued. “We are talking, of course, about energy, infrastructure, water management, and defense,” he specified.
According to Cuerpo, Spain also has “very strong defense companies.” “We know there has been enormous development in the defense sector in Ukraine in recent years; so there is a great deal of room for collaboration between defense companies, whether in the drone sector or in cyber resilience,” he stated. He added that Spain also has “leading companies” in the space and satellite sectors, which “are a key element for security, not just for communications.”
“Ukraine has a positive outlook with the European Union and the Single Market”
Carlos Cuerpo concluded his remarks with “a message of hope and optimism”: “Ukraine has a positive outlook ahead as it moves towards the European Union and the Single Market,” and therefore, “investing in Ukraine is a safe bet, and Spain will continue to support companies every step of the way.”
The Vice President’s first day in Ukraine included participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the War Memorial in Mykhailivska Square. On Thursday, July 16, Carlos Cuerpo will co-chair the Joint Commission on Trade and Investment with Sobolev, and will meet with Infrastructure Minister Oleksii Kuleba; Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal; and Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko.
