Ukraine and the US want to make the minerals fund that will govern the April 30 deal operational by the end of the year and conduct its first meeting in July, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, told Reuters in Washington on Wednesday.
Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met in the US capital to discuss the next steps for implementing the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, set up after the signing of the minerals deal.
Both sides are already discussing potential US-Ukraine projects to extract graphite, lithium, and titanium, according to the Ukrainian governmental press release.
“We are grateful to the US Government for their political resolve and consistent support… These sectors are vital for Ukraine’s economy and the strategic interests of the United States,” the press release said, quoting Svyrydenko.
The Ukrainian side proposed expanding the Fund’s investment mandate, particularly to support its defense industry, the government’s press release added.
Ukraine will devote “special attention” to expanding war risk insurance, Ukraine’s government said.
Apart from meeting with the US Treasury, Svyrydenko also met with the Development Finance Corporation, which would be a partner of the minerals fund, Reuters reported.
“So, we plan to have the first board meeting of this fund in July, and we will discuss what will be the seed capital to start operating this fund. And actually, too, we should specify the investment strategy for this fund for the next few years,” she told the media outlet.
The US and Ukraine signed the long-awaited mineral deal that outlines the scope of investments, with the Reconstruction Fund being the body that will manage investments using Ukraine’s critical minerals – the profits will be split 50/50 between the two nations.
The signed document establishes the existence of the fund that will be managed by a government agency on each side. The fund will also communicate with private investors on both sides.
Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksii Sobolev told Kyiv Post that the US-Ukraine fund is created as a “special vehicle” to manage investments under the deal and will act like a portfolio manager.