On 22-25 October, the Civil Society Forum is taking place in Washington, DC, as part of the 2024 Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). At the session ‘How to Stay Resilient in Times of War’, representatives of Ukrainian NGOs, including members of the #RRR4U consortium and representatives of the World Bank and IMF, discussed specific steps to ensure Ukraine’s economic resilience in the face of a full-scale war. The participants shared their experience that could be useful for other countries facing external non-economic risks and threats.
During the discussion, Olena Pavlenko, President of DiXi Group, spoke about energy resilience, which is one of the most important conditions for the survival of a state during a war. According to the expert, Ukraine demonstrates extraordinary endurance and ability to adapt to new conditions.
“The energy sector has become one of the key targets for the enemy – our country has lost more than 50% of its energy infrastructure. According to estimates, Russia has carried out more than a thousand attacks on various facilities: thermal power plants, hydroelectric power plants, transformers, etc. Their main goal is known – to keep the population and businesses without electricity in order to kill the economy and make us freeze in winter. But the Ukrainian power system has withstood. Despite the large-scale attacks, we managed to keep the system working,’ Olena Pavlenkosaid .
In her speech, the President of the think tank shared three key aspects that help to maintain the stability of the power system even in the most difficult conditions.
‘First, if you think about energy sustainability, you need to think in advance about backup power options: the development of alternative energy sources, the creation of mobile energy capacities, and the training of specialists capable of responding quickly to new challenges,’ said the President of the think tank.
Another important component, in her opinion, is the simplification of bureaucratic procedures and the introduction of digital technologies. According to the expert, it is especially important to receive quick support from international partners during the war, and transparency is the key to this. The more trust partners have in the processes within the country, the easier it is for it to attract new resources for recovery and development.
The third component is the connection to the energy systems of countries that are truly reliable neighbours. It is necessary to agree with them on the exchange of electricity if necessary and support each other’s systems.
The participants also discussed the formula for the country’s economic sustainability. Sana Nadeem, moderator of the session and Deputy Head of the IMF Mission to Ukraine, noted that despite the infrastructural destruction of industry, Ukraine’s performance looks surprisingly resilient: the economy is gradually growing and inflation is low.
Oleksandra Betliy, a leading researcher at the Institute for Economic Strategies and Policy Consulting, explained how this is possible.
“This stability can be explained by several factors, one of which is the reforms that continue to be implemented despite the full-scale war. In addition, Ukraine has made a significant step towards increasing transparency: we have opened up a lot of data on public finances. When we have more data, we can do more to monitor public authorities, but we can also use this data to develop solutions that will contribute to policy development,’ said Oleksandra Betliy.
The expert also shared the Ukrainian practice of cooperation between civil society and the government during the war. In particular, she spoke about the results of the monitoring conducted by the #RRR4U think tank consortium.
The session also discussed how to attract funding from international organisations during large-scale crises. Ukraine has become a new and unique challenge for which new policies have been developed to keep public services functioning, said Carlisle Smits, Lead Economist and Head of the Eastern Europe Economic Policy Programme at the World Bank.
Since the full-scale invasion, the World Bank has mobilised more than $50 billion in financial support for Ukraine, said Roman Kachur, Senior Advisor, World Bank. He spoke about the mechanisms of raising funds during the crisis and the specifics of interaction with donors on the example of Ukraine.
“The PEACE project is the World Bank’s main financial instrument for Ukraine, which has allowed other international donors to join forces to provide fast, targeted and predictable support for critical services such as salaries for teachers, doctors, civil servants and others, ’ said Roman Kachur.
The Senior Advisor also added that building trust has become an important component of cooperation with Ukraine. Ensuring the transparency of the mechanism gives donors confidence that the funds are used properly.
Finally, Sana Nadeem, Deputy Head of the IMF Mission to Ukraine, summed up that Ukraine now has a medium-term budgetary system that is stable. This is very important in the context of a full-scale war.
Watch the video of the event here.
Session organisers: International Renaissance Foundation, RRR4U (Resilience, Reconstruction and Relief for Ukraine) Consortium – DiXi Group, Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, Centre for Economic Strategy, Institute of Analytics and Advocacy. RRR4U is supported by a grant from the Open Society Foundations.
Source: DiXi Group
