US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said he would outline a new aid package for Ukraine on Wednesday at a conference aimed at encouraging private companies to invest in the country’s recovery after the Russian invasion, Reuters reported.

Anthony BlinkenPhoto: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Profimedia

Kyiv and London will host a conference on the recovery of Ukraine in London on Wednesday and Thursday, during which more than 1,000 foreign officials from more than 60 countries, together with businessmen and investors from around the world, will discuss ways to help the country rebuild.

“President Biden said … we will support Ukraine as long as it takes, and both countries are deeply committed to that,” Blinken said Tuesday at a news conference alongside British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley.

“We will continue to deliver on this commitment, including through a strong new US aid package that I will be able to announce tomorrow.”

Both foreign ministers emphasized that the discussion focused on encouraging the private sector to use its resources to speed up Ukraine’s recovery, but that Kyiv must do its part by continuing reforms and the world must find a way to insure companies against damage and destruction. produced by war.

“Of course, this week is about creating the conditions for public sector money, but mostly private sector money to finance the reconstruction” of Ukraine, Cleverley said.

“Now I don’t want to predict the exact details of how we do that. The idea for the next two days is for the UK to leverage its experience as a global financial services hub, including as a global insurance hub, but also our assembling power.”

Ukraine is seeking up to $40 billion to finance the first part of a “Green Marshall Plan” to revive its economy, including the development of a coal-free steel industry, a senior Ukrainian official told a conference.

The total bill will be huge, while Ukraine, the World Bank, the European Commission and the United Nations estimated in March that the amount needed for reconstruction would reach $411 billion in the first year of the war. It can easily exceed $1 trillion.