Italy will help with the Reconstruction of Odesa and the Preservation of UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites – Davide La Cecilia

Italy plans to help Ukraine with the reconstruction of Odesa, which suffers from constant shelling and destruction as a result of Russian armed aggression.

Davide La Cecilia, Special Commissioner for the Reconstruction of Ukraine of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, made this announcement at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) Annual Meeting - “The Future is Being Decided in Ukraine”, organised by YES, in partnership with the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.

“Italy will make a major contribution to the preservation of UNESCO cultural heritage sites that are under Russian threat. We will become patrons of Odesa in order to rebuild it, to turn it into a modern city. We are very attached to the city of Odesa: it was founded by an Italian; there is a strong Italian community there; and it is a part of our shared Italian-Ukrainian history,” said Davide La Cecilia.

In his view, Odesa’s partnerships with Italian cities, in particular with Venice, will help to attract inward investment from Italian companies into the city.

In the same vein, Pierre Heilbronn, France’s Special Envoy for Aid and Reconstruction at the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, said that it is important to make sure that aid to Ukraine is highly visible in order to send a strong signal to private investors and the international community.

“In fact, it is very important to be able to show to European citizens that their money is being used effectively. It is also essential to ensure the visibility and clarity of aid to Ukraine – as this will send clear signals to the private sector and the international community,” he pointed out. 

German Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Michael Gahler, underlined the importance of attracting private investment to facilitate the recovery of Ukraine. He said that for this to be successful, Ukraine needs to carry out important structural reforms, in particular judicial reform.

“Judicial reform is required to reassure investors and the international community that the courts and other public institutions can operate effectively. This is key to attracting private investment,” he stressed.