Carlos Cuerpo travels to Ukraine with a Spanish business delegation to participate in the reconstruction of the country

The Minister for Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Carlos Cuerpo, together with a delegation of 23 Spanish companies, visits Kyiv

The two-day visit to the Ukrainian capital, the first by a Spanish economy minister since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, aims to leverage the experience of Spanish companies in priority areas to help modernise the country.

"Spain has an unwavering commitment to Ukraine, which has shown admirable resilience after two years of conflict," said minister Cuerpo. "For the reconstruction of Ukraine to be successful, the active participation of the private sector is necessary".

Cuerpo also reiterated support for Ukraine's EU accession process, whose negotiations formally began this week and where Spain played an important role during its presidency of the European Council last year.

The Minister for Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Carlos Cuerpo, pays tribute to the fallen during his visit to Kyiv

As part of an intense institutional agenda, the economy minister will meet with authorities in different strategic portfolios. These include meetings with the respective ministers of finance, infrastructure and health.

Today, Wednesday, together with First Deputy Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenk, he will sign the minutes of the Joint Commission of the two countries, which will establish a permanent dialogue at the highest level to explore ways to strengthen trade and economic relations.

Ukraine's exports to Spain have grown in the last two years despite the war, making Spain the eighth destination for its products, mainly agricultural products such as cereals and oils. Spain is currently in a deficit position exporting arms and ammunition and vehicles and components.

Reinforcing the role of Spanish companies in Ukraine will also help to strengthen and balance economic and trade relations between the two countries.

The country offers great potential for Spanish companies that are world leaders in numerous sectors such as infrastructure construction, railways, renewable energies, technology, agribusiness and healthcare.

The delegation included public and private companies such as Acciona Energía, Adif, CAF, Grupo Cobra, Matachana, Renfe, among others, as well as the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE).

Tomorrow, Thursday, the minister will also inaugurate a Ukraine-Spain business meeting where Spanish companies will seek to position themselves and establish local contacts for the development of future reconstruction projects.

The Minister for Economy, Trade and Enterprise, Carlos Cuerpo, during his visit to Kyiv

Spain has financial tools to pave the way for the development of mutually beneficial projects. Among the instruments available are concessional loans and non-refundable lines from the Fund for the Internationalisation of Enterprises (FIEM).

Spain has played a key role in mitigating the effects of the war in Ukraine through humanitarian and military aid, as well as bilateral and multilateral financing such as the financial instrument of the Ukraine Facility, recently approved by Brussels, which has a budget of 50 billion euros.

Minister Carlos Cuerpo's visit comes almost a month after the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez and the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bilateral political agreement on security and defence that will provide 1 billion euros in military support in 2024.

"It is in these difficult times that strong ties between countries are forged, and we want to be a strategic partner of Ukraine," Cuerpo said.

Non official translation