Ukraine and US forge strategic mineral partnership for recovery
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law on Monday ratifying an agreement on mineral resources between the governments of Ukraine and the United States. This agreement will establish an American-Ukrainian Investment Fund for Reconstruction.
Information on the website of the Verkhovna Rada confirms that the president has signed the law.
Earlier, on Thursday, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada (parliament) ratified the intergovernmental agreement with the United States concerning mineral resources. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal described it as a historic event for both countries.
According to the prime minister, the agreement will offer Ukraine a variety of opportunities, including guaranteed investments in the most promising sectors of the economy. This will accelerate Ukraine's reconstruction and help mitigate the destructive effects of the war with Russia. The country will also gain access to modern technologies for modernization.
The US Department of the Treasury announced on April 30 that the United States and Ukraine signed an agreement focused on economic partnership and the establishment of the American-Ukrainian Investment Fund for Reconstruction.
The Europeyska Pravda portal reported that the agreement between the US and Ukrainian governments regarding the establishment of the American-Ukrainian Investment Fund for Reconstruction involves 57 minerals and American military assistance. However, several issues remain unspecified in the document.
The agreement includes detailed assurances that it will not conflict with Ukraine's agreements with the EU or its aspirations to join the community. In the event of such a conflict in the EU accession agreement, the provisions with the USA should be amended. Importantly, the document does not subject Ukraine to the American legal system, and disputes will be resolved on a parity basis through consultations, according to Europeyska Pravda.
The BBC portal noted on May 1 that Ukraine possesses numerous critical raw materials, including rare-earth metals. Authorities in Kyiv state that Ukraine holds about 5% of the world's critical raw material resources and notably large reserves of rare-earth metals, which are 17 elements used in the production of weapons, turbines, electronic equipment, and other essential products in the modern world.
