Famous historian Ferguson calls on the West to begin immediate modernization and reconstruction of Ukraine
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Western efforts for the future reconstruction of Ukraine should not wait for the end of the war; Ukraine should be helped to modernize and rebuild immediately, renowned British-American historian and economist Niall Ferguson in an interview with NV on Nov. 14.
Ferguson also said that he believes that any reconstruction plan for Ukraine "must be convincing."
He said he appreciates discussions about Ukraine's reconstruction, citing Larry Fink, CEO of the multinational investment corporation BlackRock, but challenges the commitment to such initiatives, saying, “show me the money, where is the money?”
“Start now, don’t tell me, ‘We’ll wait for peace.’ This may take too long. The reconstruction of Ukraine can begin immediately, and there is no reason to wait for it,” Ferguson said.
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He said a significant part of Ukraine is outside the combat zone, providing an opportunity for not only reconstruction but also modernization.
“My message is: do it. Not tomorrow, not next year, let’s start now!” the historian said, saying he was addressing his message to everyone who “talks about investing in Ukraine.”
Ferguson also said that Ukraine was never truly rebuilt after communism.
“Today, traveling through Ukraine, you can see a lot of old real estate,” he said.
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“So it should not be seen as postwar reconstruction. This is the modernization of the economy, which has not been properly modernized since 1991. We can already start working on this, (and) we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Ferguson said that Ukraine’s agricultural sector has enormous potential, but it needs access to the market.
“It’s about free trade with Ukraine. We need to end the senseless European barriers to Ukrainian agricultural exports, because there is no justification for this. We could already do this today. Governments and corporations that talk a lot about Ukraine but don’t act are hypocrites.”
For the full interview, see the latest issue of the NV magazine – No. 5, November 2023, now available for purchase on the NV.UA website.
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