Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction: where do businesses come in?

As the war’s human and economic costs are becoming apparent, it is clear that the private sector will have a key role to play in Ukraine’s recovery. The reconstruction’s main priorities and scope, set out at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano earlier this month, are ambitious, but many details remain unclear. Moreover, the level of support given by international partners is possibly conditional upon the successful implementation of Ukraine’s EU-prescribed rule of law reforms. With the war still raging, businesses want to be reassured about how they could operate in such a volatile environment.

In this digital panel discussion, Sergei Guriev, economics Professor, Sciences Po Paris and former Chief Economist, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Valeria Gontareva, Visiting Senior Fellow, the London School of Economics and Head, Ukraine’s Central Bank in 2014-17; and Denzil Davidson, Director, Global Counsel, discussed:

• What kind of immediate emergency support and longer-term investments are needed in Ukraine? In which areas is the private sector expected to contribute?
• What 'works’ in terms of reconstruction – i.e., what are the lessons of rebuilding elsewhere?
• What needs to happen – both within Ukraine and in terms of international support – to improve the business environment in post-war Ukraine?