ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey and Ukraine signed an accord that will allow Turkish construction firms to take part in the reconstruction of Ukrainian infrastructure damaged amid Russia’s invasion, the two countries said on Wednesday.
Turkey shares a maritime border with both Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. The NATO member has worked with the United Nations to broker a deal for the safe export of grain via the Black Sea. It opposes Russia’s invasion, as well as Western sanctions against Moscow.
In a meeting in Istanbul, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat, Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, and Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov signed a document setting out the parameters for a “Turkish-Ukrainian Reconstruction Task Force”.
Bolat said the three ministers had discussed the role Turkey “will undertake in the reconstruction of Ukraine”, and added the two countries would use the task force, which was formed under a 2022 memorandum of understanding on Ukraine’s reconstruction, to determine projects in Ukraine and evaluate financing conditions.
“This will provide an important legal basis for efforts for the reconstruction of Ukraine. We are ready to cooperate with third countries as well,” he said at the document signing ceremony.
Kubrakov said the main areas in need of reconstruction were the housing and transport sectors, including roads, bridges and railways, and Ukraine’s water transport infrastructure. He added that he believed the efforts would also boost bilateral trade.
“It is of paramount importance for our country to attract foreign investment on infrastructure,” he said.
Turkish contractors were keen to take part in all areas of infrastructure reconstruction, a Turkish industry source who took part in talks said.
(Reporting by Can Sezer; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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