Ukraine joins the CEB: A new member state and a reliable partner

By Olga Zykova, Deputy Finance Minister of Ukraine and member of the Administrative Council of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB)

Ukraine’s accession to the Bank is a milestone in our country’s development. Becoming the CEB’s 43rd member state on 15 June 2023 has not only been a symbol of huge solidarity, support and trust expressed by the membership of the Bank, but has also brought significant economic value to our citizens. In my personal view, Ukrainian government’s citizen-oriented approach and the CEB’s social mandate are a good match. Our membership lays a solid foundation for planning and implementing socially important projects together, especially for the most vulnerable population.

A key point to remember is that Ukraine joined the Bank during a war – the unjustified aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine – and this fact only makes us stronger. Accession sends a clear signal to the global community that our partners are standing firm with Ukraine, not only supporting our fight, but also helping us along the path towards European integration. Accession is therefore important both for me as a citizen of this country and for the country itself.

Its expertise, with its unique structure and mandate, stand out. That is why we have been so glad to work closely with the CEB from the very outset, as we showed with the launch of the HEAL project in healthcare.¹ Thanks to our cooperation, we will be able to provide critical health services, such as in mental health and primary healthcare to citizens, especially to vulnerable people and others in need, including children, assisted notably by the Bank’s “vulnerability lens”. We are now extending our cooperation to other social sectors as well.

The expertise and the experience of the Bank, including in post-conflict countries, are particularly valuable to us as a new member state. Such experience represents a whole new resource for Ukraine and is an added-value of the Bank in comparison with other partners.

But we don’t view membership as only a one-sided process! While we fully appreciate the huge added advantage for Ukraine and our citizens of joining the Bank, at the same time, we would like to be seen as a good partner that adds value, from which the CEB and other member states can benefit. We are certain that you will find us to be a reliable and efficient partner to work with. Our resilience is encapsulated in proper, solid governmental policies and is reflected in our positive cooperation with the CEB, as well as other multilateral development banks and international organisations.

Another strong point is that we are a digitalised country, and are further developing our IT sector. This should prove to be a very valuable asset for the CEB’s operations in Ukraine. Digitalisation will provide additional impetus to investment projects by making their implementation more efficient, transparent and effective. We are eager to cooperate in this regard, to develop creative solutions for overcoming current obstacles and to make sure that the right human and technological resources are made available. We look forward to playing our full role as CEB’s newest member, to working together and learning from each other in a spirit of empathy, trust and honesty, which are essential for the resilience of all our countries and citizens.

¹ The Health Enhancement and Life-Saving (HEAL) project is a US$500 million framework operation developed by the World Bank in collaboration with the Ukrainian authorities, which is designed to bring together development partners, including the CEB.

©CEB 2024

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