Ukraine says 'serious' about reforms after Lugano conference

A top Ukrainian official told AFP his country is committed to far-reaching reforms following a reconstruction conference in Switzerland for the war-ravaged country.

The conference in the southern Swiss city of Lugano drew a large, high-level delegation from Ukraine, along with representatives from dozens of other countries.

It was not a pledging conference, but concluded Tuesday with commitments to support Ukraine over what is expected to be a long and expensive recovery.

"We're going to be very serious about rebuilding Ukraine, reforming Ukraine," said Alexander Rodnyansky, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"We're serious about showing the world that we have a roadmap and a plan that's manageable and that can be executed, and implemented at some stage," Rodnyansky told AFP on the sidelines of the conference.

"We want to make sure that we have all the support that we can get for that," the 36-year-old associate economics professor at Cambridge University added.

The two-day gathering in Switzerland saw participants sign onto the Lugano Declaration, laying out key principles for how to rebuild Ukraine.

Among the principles agreed was that Ukraine itself must be in the driving seat on how to rebuild, and also that the recovery process must go hand-in-hand with far-reaching reforms.

"The rule of law must be systematically strengthened and corruption eradicated," the document said.

Rodnyansky stressed that Kyiv was fully dedicated to those principles.

"We're seeing Ukraine as an integral part of the European Union, as a reformed, well-functioning, thriving economy," he said.

Ukraine, one of the poorest countries in Europe, has been asked to make broad reforms as it seeks to join the European Union in the wake of Russia's February 24 invasion.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told Ukraine's parliament this month that membership was "within reach" but urged them to press forward with anti-corruption reforms.

- 'Staggering' cost -

On the first day of the conference, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal laid out the government's three-phase reconstruction plan.

It was focused on the immediate needs of those affected by the war, followed by the financing of thousands of longer-term reconstruction projects and ultimately on transforming Ukraine into a green and digital country.

He estimated that the cost of recovery would be at least $750 billion.

Rodnyansky said the figure was "staggering and is set to rise given that the war is continuing".

But he was optimistic Ukraine would not need to appeal for huge cash injections to cover the cost, saying a lot of the amount could be covered "naturally", as Ukraine's economy grows "from a very low base".

He also echoed Shmyhal's call for much of the cost to be covered through seized Russian assets.

"You want to make sure that you actually dismantle the Russian oligarchy," he said.