German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the reconstruction of Ukraine will provide an opportunity to make it more advanced and modern than before the war, combining it with the process of joining the European Union.
He said this in his speech at the opening of the International Expert Conference on Restoration, Reconstruction and Modernization of Ukraine in Berlin.
"This is a goal no less ambitious than the "Marshall Plan" of the 21st century, a task for a generation that will begin to be implemented now," the Chancellor emphasized.
Sholtz urged not to focus on rebuilding "the way things were and are, but to think about what a more advanced, self-sufficient, sustainable Ukraine could be."
"It could be Ukraine, which is a large producer of "green" energy, a supplier of industrial and agricultural products with high added value, an advanced country in the field of digital technologies, whose IT specialists are among the best in the world, a member of the EU with the appropriate infrastructure and legislative base," the chancellor noted.
He noted that this is both a "generational challenge" and, at the same time, opportunities, if they are used wisely.
- The Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Chernyshov stated that Ukraine needs $349 billion for recovery and reconstruction.