Collaboration for industrial recovery in the Ukraine
Berlin, 27 November 2023
acatech President Jan Wörner is welcoming representatives of the Ukrainian Ministries and of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on 24 November 2023 in Berlin. The delegation members are learning more about potential strategic approaches for reconstruction and the development of a green industry in the Ukraine. They are doing so within the scope of a project which is being realised on request of the Ukrainian Government in collaboration with UNIDO and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, BMZ).
On request of the Ukrainian Government, UNIDO is working on the development and realisation of a programme for the reconstruction of the Ukraine’s industry. This programme shall make a significant contribution to recovering the livelihood of the people affected by the war, as well as support business sectors and enterprises that have been damaged or relocated on account of the war. With this, the long-term sustainability and resilience of the Ukrainian industry can be reinforced.
Within the scope of this programme, representatives from the Ukrainian Ministries – from the realms of industry, economy, agriculture politics, energy and the environment – visited acatech.
Jan Wörner introduced acatech as an advisor to policymakers and the public. He underscored the impartiality of the evidence-based advisory, centred on the common good and based on the pillars of science and economy. In the lively discussion with the total of 20 participants, opportunities and possibilities were elicited which could make a contribution to enabling the Ukraine to create a coherent, evidence-based and results-centric programme for a green recovery and an integrative, sustainable development of the country’s industry.
Using the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam on 6 June 2023, the representatives from the Ukrainian Ministries explained the urgency of the Ukrainian decision-makers’ need for advisory based on science. The dam once served as a source of energy, as well as a water resource and basis for the fisheries sector. Now, the Ukrainian Ministries are posing the question of whether the dam should be reconstructed or not. The questions of energy supply and a source of food and water have to be considered in light of their potential impact on, for instance, the region’s biodiversity. Jan Wörner emphasised that acatech, as an advisor to policymakers, can offer advisory services precisely for such a case, and went on to describe acatech’s approach to this concrete example. A group of international experts, including construction and energy engineers, biologists and environmentalists, could evaluate various scenarios, define potential options, and identify the respective consequences for each. The scenarios suggested could cover both “black-and-white” opportunities as well as other potential options such as reconstruction but with a lower water level.
The determination of a possible cooperation for the reconstruction and recovery of the Ukraine will be discussed further with UNIDO and BMZ following the event.