"On behalf of the Ukrainian government, I signed the agreement on the establishment of an investment fund for reconstruction," announces Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Julia Svyrydenko, on site in Washington DC.
The US Finance Minister calls the deal between the nations a "historic economic partnership agreement."
Today's agreement clearly signals to Russia's leadership that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process focused on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine in the long term, says US Finance Minister Scott Bessent in a video statement.
Joint Fund
According to the draft agreement, which several American media have accessed in advance, Ukraine and the US will create conditions for larger investments in the mining industry and energy sector in Ukraine.
The countries will, as previously reported, establish a joint investment fund where a part of the future revenues go to the US.
From the American government's side, the economic gains have been highlighted as a Ukrainian counter-performance since the US has provided Ukraine with significant military aid in the fight against invading Russia.
But President Donald Trump has not wanted to give any security guarantees to Ukraine and has also dismissed the country's wish to join NATO, but he says the agreement will still benefit Ukraine.
The American presence will, I believe, keep a lot of bad actors away from the land, or at least from regions where we plan to excavate, says Trump in connection with a government meeting.
Should Have Backed on Debt
If the US provides Ukraine with further military aid, it will be counted towards the country's economic commitments for the fund, according to the draft.
The US was previously reported to have demanded that the value of the military aid so far would be counted in, but the signed agreement contains no mentions of Ukraine's debt obligations towards the US, announces Julia Svyrydenko.
"All resources on our territory and in territorial waters belong to Ukraine. It is the Ukrainian state that decides where and what will be extracted", she says in a statement.
According to a formulation in the draft, the agreement aims to "strengthen the parties' strategic partnership for the long-term reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine, as a response to the large-scale destruction caused by Russia's full-scale invasion.
The partnership between the two countries will, according to the draft, apply for ten years.
