“I am pleased to see the lively interest taken by our Ukrainian partners in Germany’s external economic promotion policy. Not least, our funding instruments support German companies that wish to participate in the reconstruction process in Ukraine,” says Thomas Pickartz from the Division for External Economic Promotion at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) when describing the main policy fields of cooperation with Ukraine. Employees from eleven Federal Ministries and authorities answered questions of Ukrainian government officials during their study tour, they provided expert input and spoke about Germany’s experience when working together with the EU. The participating Ukrainian government officials work in ministries that are responsible for the cooperation with Germany or the EU and the implementation of reforms. Therefore, requirements and tasks regarding EU processes and a better understanding of administrative processes with the EU and the cross-border collaboration between ministries were of particular interest.
Dialogue between Ukrainian and German Government Officials
Senior managers from various Ukrainian ministries and representatives of the Federal Government met for a two-week conference in Berlin in September. As part of the Partnering in Business with Germany Programme, they visited several ministries in Berlin and learned about EU-related requirements. At the same time, they discussed bilateral economic relations, including topics relating to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Another key topic discussed during the study tour was how the Federal Government could support Ukraine in its reconstruction. A particular focus was external economic policy and its instruments – ranging from administrative partnerships (like Twinning and TAIEX) to the external economic policy instruments of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, as well as support available from the KfW Development Bank, multilateral financial aid, and policies on urban and regional development. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action also supports Ukraine in the energy sector, in particular within the framework of the German-Ukrainian Energy Partnership and the International Climate Initiative. Through these, funding is currently provided for repair and maintenance works of the Ukrainian energy infrastructure. “The Energy and Climate Partnership with the Ukraine is of the highest importance for us. Together with our partners in Ukraine, in particular the GIZ, the KfW Bank and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Kyiv we can efficiently implement important steps to stabilise the security of energy supply”, says Dr Christian Forwick, the new Director-General for External Economic Policy.
The networking and the exchange between German and Ukrainian colleagues contributed to an increased mutual understanding and a stronger cooperation between the two sides. “I already knew that Germany is contributing a lot to support Ukraine. I saw and I felt this support also during the study tour when I was speaking directly with the various Federal ministries and organisations. It was very impressive”, summarises Hennadii Kyzymenko, an official at the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance.
