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Lugano Conference To Discuss Ukraine Reconstruction Process [1]
['Rfe Rl']
Date: 2022-07
Leaders from dozens of countries and international organizations will meet on July 4 in the Swiss town of Lugano, where they aim to hash out a roadmap for Ukraine's reconstruction as Russia's war efforts continue to rage.
Those traveling to Lugano for the two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference are expected to include Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who will take part virtually, warned that the work ahead in the areas that have been liberated alone was "really colossal.”
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"It is necessary not only to repair everything the occupiers have destroyed but also to create a new foundation for our lives: safe, modern, comfortable, accessible," he said in a speech late on July 3.
"No matter how difficult it is for us today, we must remember that there will be a tomorrow," Zelenskiy said.
"Ukraine is a huge country, a lot has been destroyed...You cannot start planning and coordinating reconstruction soon enough," Markus Berndt, head of the European Investment Bank's department of external activity, told dpa.
Ukraine urgently needs help to secure basic services now such as clean water supply, sewage, waste disposal, energy, and Internet access to ensure macroeconomic stability, Berndt said.
Simon Pidoux, the Swiss ambassador in charge of the conference, said that it was too early to try to estimate all the needs, insisting Lugano instead should provide "a compass" for the work ahead.
"I think the effort will last for years if not decades," he said.
Hundred of billions of euros will be required to fund the rebuilding of Ukraine's shattered infrastructure.
The conference had been planned well before Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24 and had originally been slated to discuss reforms in Ukraine before being repurposed for war reconstruction.
The conference is expected to conclude with a joint statement titled the Lugano Declaration.
Based on reporting by AFP, dpa, and Reuters
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[1] Url:
https://www.rferl.org/a/lugano-conference-ukraine-reconstruction/31927770.html
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