2nd International Exhibition & Conference REBUILD UKRAINE

2nd International Exhibition & Conference REBUILD UKRAINE gathered together more than 500 exhibitors from Ukraine, Norway, the US, the UK, Turkey and the EU.

The main topics of the exhibition were:

• energy restoration and infrastructure reconstruction in Ukraine.
• attracting fundraising from international institutions to rebuild cities and towns in Ukrainian communities.
• cooperation in other areas.

The Norway Pavilion was represented by Norwegian companies that are already working with Ukraine or plan to do so in the future.  We thank these companies Itera, Fenix Repower, Moelven, Cambi, O.B.Wiik AS, RUBB, Jotun, Splitkon, Comrod, Magnor vinduet and Istrail for their co-operation and willingness to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine.

As part of the exhibition, we held a Norwegian Business Lunch, where participants discussed Norwegian-Ukrainian trade relations, current issues of investment and financing, as well as shared their impressions about the exhibition.

Kjartan Tveitnes, Managing Director at NUCC, spoke about the current trade relations between Norway and Ukraine, high-potential priority sectors of co-operation: professional services, seafood production, agriculture, energy and the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Government Relations Expert, Yevgeniy Shakotko, spoke about Advantage Ukraine, an investment initiative of the Government of Ukraine that helps to attract affordable financing for projects in Ukraine.

Ketil Bøe, Chairman of the Board of Directors at NUCC, spoke about important investment and financing issues during a moderated panel discussion. Another participant of the moderated panel discussion was Idar Kreutzer, International Director at NHO – Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises. NHO represents 33,000 Norwegian companies worldwide in a variety of sectors including energy, transport construction and finance. Idar pointed out that during meetings at the exhibition with the government, regional and local authorities, the participants managed to identify many needs and the key aspect in the reconstruction of Ukraine, which is a reasonable and careful approach to maximise the impact of funding. He believes that the goal of public funding is to maximise the impact by stimulating private investment in the right projects in the right way.

Bernt Granås, Managing Partner at Fenix Repower AS, spoke about his experience of working in Ukraine since 2019. Bernt Granås says that it is really possible to do business in Ukraine even without experience; and patience and effort are the main thing here. Now the company has solar energy, battery and wind projects. The main need now is the investment support for those who need to invest in our projects, he says.

Another company, Itera, has been operating in Ukraine since 2008 and currently has 300 employees in Kyiv and Lviv. “If you want to learn how to work in Ukraine and to know peculiarities of the Ukrainian culture, you should start investing now,” believes Jon Erik Høgberg, CEO Itera Norge and Group COO. The IT sector in Ukraine is developing peace even in times of war. Erik proposes to attract IT specialists from Ukraine to help Ukraine and at the same time benefit from very talented people whose level is in line with European and global standards. He advises to attract Ukrainian IT talents while preparations for the reconstruction of Ukraine are underway.

Christian Syse, Special Envoy to Ukraine, NMFA, emphasised in his speech that it is necessary to listen to the needs of Ukraine and expressed hope for further support to Ukraine.

We are grateful to all our speakers for participating in the moderated panel discussion and to everyone who joined us during the Norwegian Business Lunch.

You can watch the video from the event on our YouTube channel here