After war, investments to be made in military-industrial complex, energy, infrastructure and finance – Yatsenyuk
Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum (KSF), former Prime Minister of Ukraine (2014-2016) Arseniy Yatsenyuk is convinced that after the end of hostilities in Ukraine, foreign investments will be made primarily in the military-industrial complex, energy and infrastructure projects in the country, as well as in the financial sector.
"The military-industrial complex is one of the key elements of the new economy. The second is energy. The third is infrastructure projects… And the financial sector. After 2014, when we cleaned up the entire banking and financial system, things really took off," Yatsenyuk said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
When asked if investments in the military-industrial complex would lead to investments in Ukrainian metallurgy, he replied, "I think private investors, Ukrainian metallurgy owners, will look for opportunities. Most likely, there won’t be a redistribution of the market, but they’ll be able to attract money to modernize and reconstruct their plants. This will also be a plus."
"The classic example is the agricultural sector. Yes, we need a new economy, but while we are building it, we have to live off something. Therefore, the agricultural sector is the foundation; it comprises a fourth of our economy… Depending on the conditions, Eastern Europe may enter the processing industry. However, it all depends on the negotiating terms for the agricultural sector with the EU," added the KSF head.
Regarding energy, Yatsenyuk noted his expectation for the development of small nuclear generation in Ukraine. "I dream of modular reactors appearing in Ukraine. They are cheap and stable. They have their own maneuvering capacities, thanks to which we will be able to gradually eliminate thermal energy. This will result in better ecology and cheaper electricity. However, we need to decide where to source nuclear fuel. The Americans still buy from Rosatom. If the topic comes up, I will mention that, as prime minister in 2014, I refused Russian fuel and switched to American Westinghouse. They ‘thanked’ me a lot in Moscow for that, and also for the issue with Gazprom. In short, we managed to do it then, and the possibilities still exist," said the former prime minister.
At the same time, he noted that Ukraine has a difficult experience with nuclear generation. "On the one hand, the Chornobyl tragedy, on the other hand, we receive about 50% of our electricity production thanks to nuclear power. Only the French can compete with us in Europe," Yatsenyuk emphasized.
