"This is great news for Czech entrepreneurs. They already have dozens of projects underway in Ukraine, thanks to our government's support, and now even more will be able to get involved. Our companies are active in Ukraine in many areas, for example, we are significantly involved in the reconstruction of the energy system, we supply water treatment plants to the Dnipropetrovsk region or equipment for operating theatres in Lviv, Kiev and Kharkiv. The success of Czech industry brings growth not only to our entrepreneurs, but also helps our economy," said Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

Czechia will receive EUR 188 million euro from the European budget, i.e. about CZK 4.7 billion, in the form of guarantees for investment loans and combined guarantees with grants. Specifically, there will be two programmes. The first one targets projects in the area of critical infrastructure, mainly the reconstruction of the Ukrainian energy sector. The European budget will provide EUR 100 million, or about CZK 2.6 billion, in the form of guarantees for bank loans. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are planning to provide a further CZK 850 million in loan financing for Czech companies.

"The programme, which is the result of successful cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Development Bank, represents a major step in the reconstruction of war-affected Ukraine. Our role as Czech diplomacy is not only in the area of diplomatic support, but also in the area of practical coordination between Czech businessmen and Ukrainian entities. The use of European instruments, which help to reduce investment risks in Ukraine, opens up new opportunities for Czech companies, which can thus actively participate in the reconstruction of infrastructure," said Minister Lipavský on the Czech success.

"Czech companies are very interested in investing in Ukraine, which proves the availability of their projects. Our goal is to help them with financing as much as possible, so I welcome the involvement of the National Development Bank in the European programme Ukraine Investment Framework," said Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček and added: "Now it is important to show that we stand behind Ukraine and want to develop long-term economic relations with it. Our Ministry will therefore provide the majority of the national guarantee, which will allow the European Commission to cover up to

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Communications Department Loretánské nám. 5, 118 00 Praha 1 tel.: +420 224 182 426 e-mail: press@mzv.gov.cz web: mzv.gov.cz

70 % of the financing. This will open up new opportunities for Czech companies and will also help to rebuild Ukraine's infrastructure. If a Czech company is interested in joining this programme, our ministry provides the first consultations."

The National Development Bank (NDB) may thus offer businesses a programme totalling CZK 5 billion this autumn, allowing companies to apply for loans from Ukrainian banks backed by an NDB guarantee.

"The subject of guaranteed loans will be to support productive investments directly in Ukraine, especially in the energy sector, but also in other strategic sectors. Thus, the recipient of the guaranteed loan will be Ukrainian entities. They may be subsidiaries of Czech companies, local companies (co-)owned by Czech owners, Czech-Ukrainian joint ventures, Czech-Ukrainian project SPVs or Ukrainian companies with a Czech partner," added Vilém Řehák, who coordinates the preparation of the programme at the NRB.

Thanks to the guarantee, entrepreneurs can get cheaper financing for their projects in Ukraine and do not have to worry about war or political risk. The EU created the "Instrument for Ukraine" at the beginning of last year to support the Ukrainian economy with a total injection of EUR 50 billions. However, this is not a gift or a subsidy. The EU is counting on the funds to return to the European economy. It has provided part of its support to Ukraine in the form of a loan and plans to invest a significant part of it in investment projects by EU-based companies that have ambitions to participate in Ukraine's reconstruction.

The second Czech programme supported by the EU is for the modernisation of 6 selected Ukrainian hospitals. For this purpose, the Czech Republic will receive a total of EUR 88 million from the EU budget. It will be provided in the form of bank loan guarantees, grants and technical assistance for hospitals. Thanks to the support provided, the hospitals will be able to purchase, for example, modern medical equipment from Czech manufacturers or professional training of Czech experts. The programme will be launched by the Czech Development Agency in cooperation with the National Development Bank. The Czech Republic plans to contribute around CZK 200 million from the national budget to the health programme.

This is the first time the Czech Republic has managed to obtain support from EU financial instruments for the activities of Czech entities abroad. It had to compete for funding with international financial institutions and development banks from other member states, such as Germany's KfW and Poland's BGK.