Norway Contributes to MIGA’s Ukraine Trust Fund
WASHINGTON, November 21, 2023 – Norway today contributed NOK 240 million (approximately $22 million) to the Support to Ukraine’s Reconstruction and Economy (SURE) Trust Fund, launched by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank (MIGA) in February 2023.
MIGA established the SURE Trust Fund to help deploy a two-pronged strategy to assist Ukraine deal with the impact of the ongoing conflict. In the immediate term, MIGA will provide guarantees to finance trade and essential goods, maintain credit and liquidity for small businesses, and support select real sector projects that have significant impact on the country’s economy. In the longer-term, MIGA will also provide political risk insurance for real sector projects at scale. The Fund aims to meet current and anticipated needs, with a commitment to supporting post-war reconstruction.
“Norway’s contribution represents a substantial and welcome addition to the SURE Trust Fund for Ukraine. It will allow us to expand the assistance we are already providing to the country,” said Hiroshi Matano, Executive Vice President of MIGA. “Helping Ukraine rebuild will become the priority once the war is over.”
Norway’s support to the SURE trust fund is part of the Norwegian multi-year Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine and compliments other funding to Ukraine channeled through the World Bank.
“Mobilizing the private sector will be vital to the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine,” said Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide. “Norway’s support to SURE will enable MIGA to better respond to the large demand for war insurance in the active war phase and reduce the risks for foreign investors to take part in recovery and reconstruction efforts in the longer term. Norway remains steadfast in our support for Ukraine’ freedom and recovery.”
Private insurers have been unwilling to offer political risk insurance in Ukraine given the ongoing war. With the SURE Trust Fund, MIGA can step in and leverage donor financing to employ proven de-risking mechanisms such as a first-loss layer, which absorbs a portion of the risk. This allows MIGA to provide insurance at affordable yet risk-sensitive premiums.
MIGA can offer guarantees across all sectors and already has a pipeline of projects in the agribusiness, manufacturing, renewable energy, and financial industries in Ukraine. MIGA has allocated $23 million that Japan contributed to projects insured in 2023. Belgium recently contributed to the Fund and the UK has pledged to contribute toward the $300 million overall funding target.
About MIGA
MIGA was created in 1988 as a member of the World Bank to promote foreign direct investment in emerging economies by helping to mitigate the risks of restrictions on currency conversion and transfer, breach of contract by governments, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance; and offering credit enhancement to private investors and lenders. Since its creation, MIGA has issued over US$76 billion in guarantees across 123 developing countries, supporting more than 1,000 projects. Over the past decade, MIGA’s guarantees have generated more than 156,000 jobs in developing countries.
Contact:
In Washington:
Elizabeth Howton, (202) 458-5922 or ehowton@worldbankgroup.org
For more information, please visit: https://www.miga.org/migas-ukraine-response
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