Ukraine has approved the first steps to allow private investors to develop a large state-owned lithium deposit, in what could be the first project to get the green light under the new deal.
Sources told The New York Times about this.
According to sources, the Ukrainian government has agreed to begin preparing recommendations for opening a tender for companies to develop a lithium deposit at the Dobra site in Kirovohrad region.
Among the potential bidders is a consortium of investors that includes energy investment company TechMet (partly owned by the US government) and billionaire Ronald Lauder, a friend of Donald Trump. This group called on President Volodymyr Zelensky in late 2023 to allow participation in the tender for this field.
The preparation of the recommendations will take several weeks, and the government may still refuse to hold the tender. The Ukrainian government has not officially commented on this decision.
Subsoil Agreement
On May 1, Ukraine and the United States signed an agreement on subsoil resources — that is, on the creation of a Reconstruction Investment Fund between the United States and Ukraine, which will attract global investments into our country.
The fund is a key instrument of cooperation between the United States and Ukraine for the countryʼs post-war reconstruction and its integration into the global economy. More information about the agreement is available here and here.
The signing of the agreement was preceded by months of political battles between Ukraine and the US. Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko noted that in the end, a version of the agreement was formed that provides for mutually beneficial conditions for both countries.
On May 6, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on International Policy recommended ratifying the minerals agreement. However, on May 7, the Committee voted down the decision — a text was added to the preamble of the resolution, stating that the deputies had not seen other agreements concluded along with the general minerals agreement.
On May 13, the Verkhovna Rada voted in the first reading for Bill No. 13256, which provides for amendments to the Budget Code to implement the Minerals Agreement.
In the evening of the same day, it became known that Ukraine had completed all necessary procedures to launch the American-Ukrainian Fund, and on May 23, Ukraine and the United States officially launched the fund.
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