Turkish builders say ready to play role in reconstruction of Ukraine

Türkiye’s contractors on Friday expressed readiness to play a role in the rebuilding of Ukraine, a day after the country’s president pledged to support the war-torn country in the reconstruction of its infrastructure, Azernews reports citing Daily Sabah.

Ukraine is already an important market for Turkish construction companies, which are looking to resume some of the projects disrupted by the war.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday conveyed to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Türkiye would give the necessary support for the reconstruction of the embattled country.

Erdogan’s remarks came as he paid his first visit to Ukraine since the war began and alongside Zelenskyy, oversaw a signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the rebuilding of the country’s infrastructure that has been either damaged or destroyed.

Erdogan met with Zelenskyy in the western city of Lviv and held bilateral talks before they were joined by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The trilateral summit focused on diplomatic efforts to help end the almost six-month war, as well as to discuss a mechanism that was set up last month to free up exports of Ukrainian grain to the world markets.

“We discussed the extent of the physical destruction caused by the war in Ukraine. We shared with Mr. Zelenskyy that we will give the necessary support for the reconstruction of Ukraine, as we have done so far,” Erdogan said following the meeting.

Ukraine’s leader dubbed his Turkish counterpart’s trip a “powerful message of support.”

“We talked about the reconstruction of Ukraine after this war. In this context, I would like to especially thank Türkiye for undertaking the reconstruction works in the city of Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region,” Zelenskyy said.

The MoU, signed by Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mush and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, foresees a formation of a joint working group that will coordinate work to rebuild facilities of social and economic importance, including roads, bridges, water and electricity infrastructure, hospitals and schools.

The Turkish government and businesses are expected to develop specific reconstruction projects and provide consulting and technical assistance, the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement.