Zelenskyy to invite Yoon to Ukraine Recovery Conference in July

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seen on a screen as he addresses the audience from Kyiv during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, May 23. Zelenskyy plans to invite Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to a conference to discuss the country's post-war reconstruction in July. AP-Yonhap

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to invite Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to a conference for rebuilding Ukraine following Russia's invasion in early July. The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2022) is scheduled to take place in Lugano, Switzerland on July 4 and 5. Formerly named the Ukraine Reform Conference, the event was renamed to highlight the new focus of the gathering amid the current conditions.

The Ukrainian embassy in Seoul said an official joint invitation by Zelenskyy and the Swiss president will be sent out in a couple of days.

Yoon had a phone call with Zelenskyy in late March as the president-elect where he expressed his support for Ukraine, proposing a meeting with Zelenskyy after the war ends.

The invitation to the conference shows how Korea now has greater international responsibility to fulfill as the world's 10th largest economy. As of early May, Korea has provided about $40 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

President Yoon Suk-yeol arrives at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

The conference, co-hosted by Ukraine and Switzerland, aims to discuss Ukraine's post-war reconstruction and development in cooperation with international partners.

Zelenskyy noted the war-torn country's high hopes for the conference during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, May 23.

"I invite you to take part in reconstruction of Ukraine after the war. The scope of work is colossal. We have more than half a trillion dollars in losses, tens of thousands of objects have been destroyed. It is necessary to restore entire cities and industries," Zelenskyy said during the forum.

"We offer a special historical and weighty recovery model, when each partner country or partner city, or partner company will have a historical opportunity to take patronage over this or that region of Ukraine, city or community, or industry," he said.

He added that by the start of the international conference in Lugano, he hopes partner states and the world's leading companies will present proposal packages for Ukraine's reconstruction.

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