(Adnkronos) – Italy is a strategic partner for Ukraine and wants to play a pivotal role in rebuilding the country according to European and Western standards, foreign minister Antonio Tajani argues in an op-ed for Formiche magazine’s July issue.
“Supporting Ukraine remains a priority for our security and our future,” wrote Tajani, condemning Russia’s “unjustified aggression” in invading the former Soviet republic in February 2022.
Backing Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s efforts for a ceasefire and a just and lasting peace is “not only a duty, but an extraordinary opportunity for common growth,” Tajani stated.
“Italy is hosting the Ukraine Recovery Conference on 10 and 11 July. The government with our Ukrainian counterparts, has invited nearly 100 countries, dozens of international and financial organizations, 2,500 companies, local authorities and Italian, Ukrainian and international civil society associations to the striking setting of the Nuvola Convention Centre,” wrote Tajani.
The conference’s goal is to “connect public and private actors to define essential commitments, programs and economic agreements,” he wrote.
Showing the significance the government attaches to the conference, Italy’s entire cabinet will attend the two-day meeting, Tajani noted.
“This is the most important annual international event dedicated to the country where topics such as Ukraine’s reconstruction, reform and modernization will be discussed,” wrote Tajani.
The conference includes a technical forum and a business fair, focusing on four ‘dimensions’: economic, human, local/regional, and reform-related.
“According to the World Bank, Ukraine’s transport sector needs nearly 78 billion dollars for its reconstruction over the next ten years. The railway sector alone (tracks, bridges, stations, electrical systems, etc.) requires investment estimated at 15 billion dollars,” Tajani stated.
Italy has so far committed 2.5 billion euros in economic, humanitarian and defence aid for Ukraine, whose total reconstruction costs will be 500 billion euros, the World Bank estimates.
Italian companies “will be able to make a huge contribution by seizing the opportunities provided by the financial and insurance instruments that together enable them to contribute to the country’s recovery,” the op-ed continued.
Italy’s government wants to more, however, Tajani underlined.
“A priority will be to concretely help people and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) which, in Ukraine as in Italy, form the backbone of the economy,” he stated.
SMEs account for 99.9 percent of companies in Ukraine, employing 81.6 percent of the workforce and providing more than 70 percent of the added value of domestic production, according to the OECD.
The Rome conference will be a “catalyst” for many Ukrainian companies that want to boost their partnerships with Europe, Tajani claimed.
Culture is an important sector for Ukraine’s reconstruction and in which Italy is “an absolute world leader”, Tajani wrote.
Italy is working with Unesco on rebuilding the port city of Odessa’s landmark Trasfiguration Cathedral’s roof, which was badly damaged by Russian missile strikes in July 2023, Tajani recalled.
The conference will also unveil the Rome Declaration for Science, Research and Innovation in Ukraine, promoted by the universities and research ministry and the Ukraine’s education and science ministry, the European Commission, and Unesco, wrote Tajani.
“Rebuilding Ukraine with Western standards is indeed an historic opportunity, as well as a just effort aimed at restoring prospects for growth and prosperity to the benefit of a people who want to be able to freely choose their own destiny,” Tajani underlined.
The Ukraine Recovery Conference is now in its fourth edition following events held in Lugano (2022), London (2023), and Berlin (2024).
