Who will extract and who will give money for it: the Ministry of Economy explains how the investment fund will work under the agreement with the US

First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko explained how the US Recovery Investment Fund will work. According to her, the fund can finance mining projects, but will not be involved in mining itself.

At a press conference, she stressed that in order to launch the fund, it is necessary to finalise some technical documents that no longer require government signatures or ratification in the Verkhovna Rada, UNN reports.

Yuliia Svyrydenko noted that nothing will change for companies engaged in extraction - licences have been issued under the current rules and will continue to be issued in the future. If a company has a licence and plans to develop a field, but lacks funds, it can apply to the fund for financing. To do this, it is necessary to provide information on the conditions for attracting resources and a description of the project, after which the fund will make a decision on support.

The fund is not involved in production, privatisation or production sharing agreements. It only provides financing. If the fund refuses to provide financing, the company can seek funds from other investors, but the terms cannot be significantly more favourable than those offered by the fund.

Svyrydenko also stressed that American investors will receive priority information about promising fields. She explained that if a company has a licence and sufficient resources, it can produce on its own without involving the fund.

Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka added that new fields will be discovered through a tender or auction. After winning, the company can apply to the fund for financing.

On 1 May, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed an agreement between the two countries to establish the Recovery Investment Fund.

The bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the United States signed in Washington establishes a political framework for cooperation in the field of subsoil development.

Subsequently, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine published the full text of the agreement on cooperation in the field of subsoil use, which was signed with the US government on 1 May in Washington.