Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trum
The United States and Ukraine are trying to seal a natural resources agreement that would give the US access to Ukraine’s untapped mineral riches in exchange for investment.
Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced the conclusion of the negotiations between the US and Ukraine on Wednesday adding that the agreement with the US includes Ukraine’s key condition to include a reference to security guarantees in the deal.
According to the preliminary agreement, an “Investment Fund” will be set up to help rebuild Ukraine.
“The Governments of Ukraine and the United States of America, with the aim of achieving lasting peace in Ukraine, intend to establish a Reconstruction Investment Fund (Fund), partnering in the Fund through joint ownership, to be further defined in the Fund Agreement. Joint ownership will take into consideration the actual contributions of the Participants as defined in Sections 3 and 4,” read part of the preliminary agreement.
The Fund will be jointly managed by representatives of the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the United States of America.
The Fund will also collect and reinvest revenues contributed to the Fund, minus expenses incurred by the Fund, and will earn income from the future monetization of all relevant Ukrainian Government-owned natural resource assets.
Under the agreement, Ukraine will contribute 50% of future revenues from state-owned mineral resources, oil, and gas to the fund, which will then invest ‘to promote the security and prosperity of Ukraine’.
“The Government of Ukraine will contribute to the Fund 50 percent of all revenues earned from the future monetization of all relevant Ukrainian Government-owned natural resource assets (whether owned directly or indirectly by the Ukrainian Government), defined as deposits of minerals, hydrocarbons, oil, natural gas, and other extractable materials, and other infrastructure relevant to natural resource assets (such as liquified natural gas terminals and port infrastructure) as agreed by both Participants, as may be further described in the Fund Agreement,” the agreement reads.
The deal also notes that the US government will, subject to US law, “maintain a long-term financial commitment to the development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine.
The Fund agreement will include essential representations and warranties to ensure that Ukraine’s obligations to third parties, both current and future, do not result in the sale, transfer, pledge, or encumbrance of the Fund’s contributions, its underlying assets, or the allocation of its funds.
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