Recovery was the major theme of large business conferences this fall, held in Warsaw, Poland and Toronto, Canada, and which were devoted to Ukraine, overcoming the consequences of a full-scale invasion of the russian federation, revitalizing business and rebuilding.
The Business Ombudsman of Ukraine Roman Waschuk shared his conclusions and insights from the attended conferences.
Key points of the Business Ombudsman:
- There is no fatigue on the part of corporate and government players either planning to get involved in renewal – or already engaging in structurally important ways.
- Ukraine is getting its message out professionally and persuasively; now it needs to get policy implantation right, to match the investment pitch.
- Warsaw was more of a trade show, with panel discussions bolted on. Impressive national pavilions showcasing hundreds of corporate exhibitors offered reconstruction at its most literal: scaffolding systems, power engineering, water treatment, demining vehicles. From a Business Ombudsman standpoint, this was a preview of the companies we’re likely to be dealing with in the near future.
- Toronto was more of a bilateral trade/investment forum. But it also featured major Canadian corporate players with signed contracts: CAMECO with a $3 billion deal to supply all of Ukraine’s processed uranium reactor fuel needs up to 2035; Aecon with a project with Ukrhidroenergo to replace the Kakhovka dam and its power generation capacity.
- Skeptics may well scoff that it’s both too early and too inappropriate to talk about rebuilding while fighting grinds on and drones fly. But the lead time for major investments, evident widespread interest, and Ukrainians’ proven ability to get projects underway even under current conditions all indicate that the time to get going is now.
As a reminder, FIT4UKRAINE Conference was held as part of the Rebuild Ukraine 2023 International Exhibition on November 15, 2023 with the support of Ukraine Unvest. The Rebuild Ukraine conference was held on November 21-22, 2023 with the support of the Canada-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce.
