Allies seek big-business investment to rebuild Ukraine at London conference
Diplomats from dozens of countries are meeting in London to drum up funds to rebuild Ukraine
LONDON (AP) — Diplomats from dozens of countries are meeting Wednesday in London to drum up funds to rebuild Ukraine, a mammoth task whose cost is estimated by the World Bank at more than $400 billion – a figure rising daily alongside the human toll of the 16-month war.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to announce a new package of U.S. assistance at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which is both a fundraising forum and a message to Russia that Ukraine’s allies are in it for the long haul.
Blinken, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are among international representatives at the gathering, which hopes to get big businesses to back Ukraine.
“(It’s) very much about encouraging the private sector to invest in Ukraine’s rebuilding and recovery,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Tuesday. To do that, he said, “we need to demonstrate that those investments will be effective and that they will be safe” by underwriting Ukraine’s long-term security.
