By Yuliia Dysa and Andrea Shalal
KYIV/WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) – The Ukraine-U.S. joint reconstruction fund has approved its first investment project, in Sine Engineering, a Lviv-based communications and navigation technology producer, the Ukrainian prime minister said on Wednesday.
The U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund received over 200 investment applications, most of them in the energy sector, Yulia Svyrydenko said on the Telegram app. She said the company’s technology was used by 150 Ukrainian manufacturers of drones and interceptor systems.
The fund, established as part of a minerals deal signed between the U.S. and Ukraine in April, began operations in December. Focused on investments in critical minerals and other strategic sectors, it is expected to reach $200 million by the end of the year, as the Ukraine war drags on.
Conor Coleman, head of investments at the U.S. International Development Finance Corp (DFC), said the first investment paved the way for further announcements in coming months.
“This is laying the foundation for success going forward,” Coleman told reporters. “We looking forward to having more announcements on this … in the next coming months.”
Ukrainian officials had said they hoped to announce three initial investment projects this year, and the number could climb beyond that, a U.S. official said.
Svyrydenko, in a post on X, said the largest number of proposals submitted focused on the energy sector, a key priority after the last brutal winter, which saw increased Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy production sites.
Other priority areas include dual-use technology manufacturing, infrastructure, and critical minerals, she said.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa in Kyiv and Andrea Shalal in WashingtonEditing by Ros Russell, William Maclean)
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