| Ukraine Recovery Conference | |
|---|---|
 Pre-2022 conference logo | |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Inaugurated | July 6, 2017; 8 years ago (2017-07-06) |
| Most recent | July 10–11, 2025 (Rome,Italy) |
| Next event | [to be determined] |
| Participants | Ukraine and its international partners |
| Activity | War recovery,Reforms,National security,Democracy,Economy ofUkraine |
| Website | Official website |
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TheUkraine Recovery Conference (formerlyUkraine Reform Conference) is an annual international event dedicated to discussions on the rebuilding and reconstruction priorities ofUkraine due to theRusso-Ukrainian War.[1][2] Prior to theRussian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the conference focused on international development and assistance within Ukraine, focusing on economic and democratic reforms.
Following the2014 Ukrainian revolution, Ukraine began undertaking reforms to reinforce security and democratic accountability.[3] In 2017,Ukrainian Prime MinisterVolodymyr Groysman initiated the first Ukraine Reform Conference as a tool for active engagement and collaboration with international organizations and foreign countries to support and implement reforms in Ukraine.[4][3]
The Ukraine Reform Conference originally focused on progress with reforms in Ukraine.[4] It began as a conference including Ukrainian and foreign officials, including members of theEuropean Union,North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),The Group of Seven (G7), civil society representatives, members of theprivate sector, andthink tanks.[4][3] The objectives of the conference were to present results of key reforms in Ukraine, set out the priority of theGovernment of Ukraine's objectives for the upcoming year, encourage investment in theUkrainian economy, and engage the international community in Ukrainian reforms.[4]
On 24 February 2022,Russiainvaded Ukraine in an escalation of theRusso-Ukrainian War that started in 2014. The 2022 conference was originally planned as the 5th Ukraine Reform Conference. However, the focus and name were changed due to invasion of Ukraine.[1][2]
The 2025 conference took place inRome, Italy from 10–11 July 2025.[5]
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In September 2023, Germany announced it would host the next conference. It took place on 11–12 June 2024 inBerlin.[6][7][8]
The 2023 conference took place inLondon, United Kingdom from 21–22 June 2023.[9][10]
The conference was again attended by high-level international representatives, organizations, and financial institutions.[9]President of UkraineVolodymyr Zelenskyy again attended virtually via video-link.[11]
During the conference, Prime Minister of Ukraine,Denys Shmyhal remarked that Ukraine was facing the largest reconstruction project in Europe sinceWorld War II and requestedUS$7 billion in aid.[12]
President of the European Commission,Ursula von der Leyen, presented a proposal for a new Ukrainian facility that would provide up toEUR€50 billion over four years to support financial stability, recovery, and implementation of key reforms to assist in theAccession of Ukraine to the European Union between 2024 and 2027.[13]
The fifth conference was the first conference after the Russian invasion of Ukraine which precipitated a change in name and focus of the conference from theUkraine Reform Conference to theUkraine Recovery Conference.[1]
It was a two-day conference held on 4–5 July 2022 inLugano,Switzerland designed to present the Ukrainian roadmap on post-war reconstruction, including plans to raise funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine.[14] It has been called a “Marshall Plan” for Ukraine.[14][15] The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, revealed infrastructure losses in Ukraine to be more thanUS$100 billion.[16] Which included more than 1,200 educational institutions, 200 hospitals, thousands of kilometres ofgas pipelines, water and electricity infrastructure, roads, and railways which had been destroyed or damaged.[16]
During the conference, a draft framework was presented for the post-war recovery of Ukraine. Using input from 2,000 experts, the framework was separated into three stages with an estimated reconstruction cost ofUS$750 billion.[16][17]
The draft framework included the following steps for the reconstruction of Ukraine:
The conference resulted in a "Lugano Declaration"[18] which outlined the following:
It also outlined seven principles for Ukraine's recovery process:[19]
The declaration was signed by heads of state and government, ministers and high representatives of Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, Finland, France, Croatia, Japan, as well as senior officials and high representatives of theCouncil of Europe, theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Commission, theEuropean Investment Bank, and theOrganization for Economic Cooperation and Development.[20] The United Kingdom also unveiled a large aid package for the rebuilding of Ukraine.[21]
The conference was the first one that President Zelenskyy did not attend in person and instead joined via live video link fromKyiv.[22]
During his speech, President Zelenskyy remarked on the invasion of Ukraine:
Russia's war against Ukraine is not only an attempt to seize our land and destroy state institutions, to break our independence. It is a worldview confrontation. The anti-democratic and anti-European system built in Russia is trying to prove that it is supposedly stronger than all of us: Ukraine, Europe, and the democratic world.[17]
The fourth conference was originally scheduled to be held on 7 July 2020, inVilnius, Lithuania.[23][24] However, due to complications from theCOVID-19 pandemic, the conference was rescheduled for 2021.[25]
Both President of LithuaniaGitanas Nausėda and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky attended. Invitees included representatives from the following countries:
as well as representatives from the European Union,European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,Council of Europe, theInternational Monetary Fund, NATO, theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD), theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, theUnited Nations Development Programme, theWorld Bank, theEuropean Union Advisory Mission Ukraine, and theEuropean Union Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine.[23]
The conference focused on developments after the2019 Ukrainian presidential election, theWar in Donbas, and policy objectives for the future.[23][26]
The third conference was held on 2–4 July 2019 inToronto, Canada.[3]
There was more than 800 in attendance, including delegations from 37 countries and 10 international organizations.[3] Among those in attendance included President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy andPrime Minister of CanadaJustin Trudeau,[27] as well as representatives from the following countries:
as well as representatives from NATO, Council of Europe, International Monetary Fund,European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, OECD,Ukrainian World Congress, and the World Bank.[3][28]
Key agenda items included:
The second conference was held on 27 June 2018, inCopenhagen,Denmark.[29][30]
The conference was attended by:
As well as representatives from the United States, NATO,OECD, and other G7 and European countries.[29][30][31]
The conference focused on affirming the international partnership with and support for a free and reformed Ukraine, and topics of good governance, economic development, and objectives for 2018–2019.[30][32] Objectives includedprivatization of state owned enterprises, improved corporate governance, improving the business climate, land market reform, decentralization, anti-corruption, energy sector reform, infrastructure development, public administration reform and innovation and digital development.[32]
Prime Minister Groysman indicated Ukraine will continue to implement policies further align and deepen cooperation with the European Union. TheDeep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area entered into force on 1 September 2017 and provided Ukraine with access to theEuropean single market, which increased trade of Ukrainian foreign goods with EU members states to 41.3%.[33] In 2017, Ukraine achieved more than +2% growth ingross domestic product(GDP) and was estimated to achieve +3% GDP in 2018, and>3% GDP by 2019.[33]
Groysman outlined the following 6 key reform priories:[33]
| Reform priorities | Some areas of progress |
|---|---|
| Pensions | Since 2017, 10.2 million pensions were raised by an average of₴561.17 (35.7% increase).[33] |
| Education | Implementation of the "New Ukrainian School" system. Increased coverage for students withspecial needs. In 2017, teachers’ salaries increased by 50% and an additional 25% increase in 2018.[33] |
| Healthcare | Multiple laws were passed, including legislation "On Improving the Availability of Medical Services in Rural Areas”, and legislation on medical care for foreigners andstateless persons. A basic implementation of aneHealth system, and an affordable medicine program. Began setting up theNational Health Service of Ukraine as a designated national purchaser of medical services.[33] |
| Public Administration | Online tools were implemented for monitoring government decisions and plans. Creation of a single open government data web-portal (data |
| Privatization and State-Owned Enterprises | New legislation passed. Separation ofstate-owned enterprises(SOEs) into more groups to help triage further reforms. UtilizingProzorro.Sale, a joint-stock company, to pilot small scale privatization of SOEs in a transparent manner.[33] |
| Agriculture sector | Severalresolutions on land use monitoring and maintenance. New online services. Allocated₴6.3 billion in the 2018 state budget for agricultural purposes.[33] |
The first conference was held on 6 July 2017, inLondon, United Kingdom.[34][35] The conference was attended by Prime Minister Groysman, United Kingdom Foreign SecretaryBoris Johnson, and more than 30 representatives from international security and financial organizations.[35][36]
The themes of the conference were economic growth, good governance, human capital, rule of law, anti-corruption, and defence and security.[35] The Government of Ukraine presented itsReform Action Plan 2017-2020, which laid out future reform plans.[32][36]
Prime Minister Groysman emphasized enhancing Ukraine's defence capabilities in response toaggression from Russia. Groysman remarked that "improving the defense capability of our state is in the interest of the entire democratic world".[37]
Groysman cited two additional areas needing reforms, which included privatization and corruption.[38] For privatization, Groysman stated that new legislation had already been submitted to theUkrainian parliament to develop a system of transparent and competitive privatization.[38] As well as reforming the judicial system and adopting English law. For corruption, Groysman advocateddecentralization and presented strategies for anti-corruption, including the newNational Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the creation of an anti-corruption court of justice.[38]
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