Turkey to take part in the restoration of Ukraine’s infrastructure facilities

New Delhi: Ankara and Kyiv have signed a memorandum on Turkey’s participation in the restoration of Ukrainian infrastructure facilities, Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure said.

“Today in Lvov, Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Alexander Kurbakov and Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus signed a memorandum of understanding on the reconstruction of infrastructure, which provides for Turkey’s participation in Ukraine’s reconstruction,” the ministry said in a statement on Facebook (an Internet platform banned in Russia since it is owned by Meta corporation deemed extremist by Russian authorities).

The document was signed in the presence of Presidents Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

According to the Statista Research Department, The damage to housing facilities from the Russian invasion of Ukraine based on publicly available evidence was estimated at 47.8 billion U.S. dollars as of August 8, 2022. Further 33.4 billion U.S. dollars were recorded in direct losses from damages to transportation infrastructure. The total damage to the physical infrastructure of the war that began on February 24, 2022, was estimated at 110.4 billion U.S. dollars.

War impact on the Ukrainian economy

Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) was forecast to fall by approximately 45 percent in 2022 as a result of the Russian invasion. On the one hand, the country suffers from damage to its infrastructure which would require time and financial resources to be restored. On the other hand, the war threatens Ukraine’s international trade. The military actions disrupt the routes used for transporting goods for exports and imports. In July 2022, a deal has been signed between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul to provide for a corridor for Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea.

(Vinayak)