The third Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) took place this year on June 11 and 12 in Berlin. On behalf of German Water Partnership e.V. (GWP), Managing Director Boris Greifeneder took part in the conference with high-ranking government representatives from all over the world. On the German side, half of the cabinet of the federal government, representatives of the state governments, numerous cities and municipalities were on site and reaffirmed their support for the reconstruction of Ukraine in presentations, discussions and talks.
Reconstruction of Ukraine: perspectives and strategies on multiple levels
The necessary conditions for achieving this common goal were analyzed and elaborated on four different levels. The conditions for successful reconstruction were examined from an entrepreneurial, individual, local-regional and EU perspective. The involvement of the private sector is essential for the reconstruction of infrastructure, including in the area of drinking water supply and wastewater disposal. In a systemic approach, the interests of civil society must be prioritized in particular. This primarily includes ensuring that access to water and sanitation is guaranteed. This opens up business opportunities for German companies. An important basis is the institutional strengthening of municipalities. However, empowering people in the local administration and in non-governmental organizations is also an important first step towards building back better. The topic is also central to GWP, as some member companies are showing great interest in the reconstruction of Ukraine or are already involved. For this reason, GWP dedicated a session to the topic of reconstruction at its annual conference “Global Water Responsibility – Together for a Global Water Transition” on July 3.
Supporting events and discussion forums on URC 2024
Numerous side events took place at the same time as URC 2024. The day before, on June 10, GWP speaker Julia Egel participated as a panelist at the Smart Water Ukraine event at the Startup Incubator Berlin together with representatives of the Mykolaiv Water Hub, the EU Delegation Kyiv and Libereco to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the Ukrainian water industry. Immediately afterwards, discussions continued at the premises of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Federal Minister Svenja Schulze and the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs of Ukraine, Yuliia Svyrydenko, discussed “Ukraine’s Recovery in the European Context”. The week before, Julia Egel had already taken a seat in the audience at GIZ and listened to the broadcast of the rbb information radio program on the reconstruction of Ukraine. Among others, Vice-President of the German Bundestag Katrin Göring-Eckardt and the Managing Director of AHK Ukraine Reiner Perau took part in the discussion. You are welcome to listen in (recording is in German language): Wiederaufbau mitten im Krieg? Was die Ukraine jetzt braucht
GWP was impressed by the dynamics of URC 2024 and it is a pleasure to actively contribute to the sustainable reconstruction and build back better of the Ukrainian water sector together with our members.
If you have any questions about Ukraine at GWP or the EECCA Regional Forum, please contact Julia Egel at the GWP office directly.