Kyiv names managers for U.S.-Ukraine investment fund ahead of first meeting
Kyiv announced its selection for the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund’s board of managers ahead of its first meeting this week, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Sept. 1.
The Ukrainian side will be represented by the Economy, Environment, and Agriculture Minister Oleksiy Sobolev and his deputy Yehor Perelyhin, and State Secretary of the Foreign Ministry Oleksandr Karasevich.
The announcement sets the stage for the fund to become functional after four months of preparation by America's International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Ukraine’s Support Public-Private Partnership Agency (PPP Agency).
"All of (the managers) are professional managers with experience in attracting investments, negotiating with partners, strategic planning, and expertise in the field of subsoil," Svyrydenko wrote on her Telegram channel.
The management board will be equally represented by three Ukrainians and three Americans, and investment decisions will require unanimous approval from the board. The U.S. has not named its representatives yet.
The managers will gather for the inaugural board meeting in Kyiv on Sept. 3 alongside their U.S. counterparts. There, the two sides will hammer out the final operational blueprint to kickstart the investment project that has defined President Donald Trump’s business-oriented approach to Ukraine.
If successful, the fund could attract billions for Ukraine’s reconstruction and breathe new life into its cash-strapped industries, like its critical raw materials sector — key for the green energy transition.
Kyiv greenlit the fund’s first tender on Aug. 27, for the Dobra lithium deposit in central Ukraine that contains 80-105 million metric tons of the highly coveted material, used in batteries. The competition will be live for three months.
The Washington-backed mining company TechMet has said it will bid on the project, having eyed up the site since it was announced. But a legal dispute could be on the horizon as another company, Australian firm European Lithium, claims to have the rights to Dobra’s license.
Washington and Kyiv inked the first stage of the agreement, previously nicknamed the "minerals deal," on April 30, after months of tense negotiations. Initially positioned as a deal for Ukraine’s natural resources, like raw materials and energy, the fund has since morphed into a channel for investment projects across all sectors, including infrastructure and even defense projects.
Under the agreement, Ukraine will transfer 50% of its profits from new licenses, new royalty payments, and new production sharing agreements to the fund over 10 years. New military aid could be included as part of Washington's future contributions, if the U.S. chooses to do so.
The governing board will have four specialized committees: the investment committee to prepare projects, an administrative committee responsible for daily operations, an audit committee for financial control, and an investment search committee to determine priority areas.
