Through the World Bank, the Netherlands is investing 100 million euros in guarantees for financing agricultural companies in Ukraine and, for example, in generators to help the country through the coming winter.
Minister Liesje Schreinemacher of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation made this commitment at the spring meeting of the World Bank in Washington.
According to the carpenter This is the first concrete implementation in the field of recovery support of the 2.5 billion euros that the Netherlands promised Ukraine earlier this year. The emphasis in that amount was on military support, but Schreinemacher assures that other support options are also being carefully considered.
’40 million euros is specifically used for agricultural companies so that they can buy grain this season or replace agricultural equipment that has broken,’ she explains. ‘These companies simply take out a loan with a local bank, but because banks there are naturally hesitant about loans, there will be a guarantee that the bank will get its money back at all times. Then the bank is also inclined to grant a loan more quickly.’
According to Schreinemacher, this has not only helped the Ukrainian agricultural sector. The support would also be good for world food security, as Ukraine exports a lot of grain.
The remaining amount of the 100 million euros is intended not only for the purchase of generators, but also for repairing roads, for example. The generators are not expected to be needed until next winter and will therefore be delivered in the autumn. (ANP)
