The State develops the defence industry, meets all social obligations and continues to support businesses
Reinforcement of the defence forces, reconstruction, social and economic policy, as well as effective work with partners - Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal outlined the key areas of the Government's work during the Forum "Ukraine. Year 2025".
Denys Shmyhal stressed that the number one priority was to strengthen the security and defence forces: "Every hryvnia raised in Ukraine is directed to these needs. This year, the budget provides for UAH 2.2 trillion. This is 26% of our GDP. Last year, the Ukrainian defence industry grew 6 times. Now Ukraine produces 30% of the needs of the Ukrainian army. Our goal is that at least half of the weapons demand should be met by Ukrainian enterprises."
Effective social policy is the second area of the Government's activity. Denys Shmyhal stressed that the State was meeting its social obligations and would continue to do so. In 2024, more than UAH 730 billion in pensions and almost UAH 180 billion in other social payments were covered. He said that in March, pensions would be indexed, and work continued on the introduction of support for families with children, basic social assistance and accumulative pensions. Programmes to support internally displaced persons and vulnerable families are in place.
Denys Shmyhal emphasised that this year's priority in the area of recovery will be housing and energy.
The Prime Minister also noted that the Government would pursue its policy of supporting the economy and Ukrainian producers. This includes concessional lending, compensation for domestic equipment, grant programmes for starting a business, and the National Cashback programme, which has been joined by 5 million people and more than 2,000 manufacturers.
"The only way to support our business, our economy, is to develop a culture of supporting our own. This is what we are focusing on and working on," he stressed.
Another important area that Denys Shmyhal mentioned is cooperation with partners for the sake of victory and sustainability.
"This year we have already received confirmation of USD 38.4 billion in budget support. We are working with the IMF and the European Commission, the World Bank, the EBRD and other financial institutions," the Head of Government said.
He is convinced that Ukraine will succeed in overcoming all the challenges of the fourth year of the full-scale war.
"Ukraine has consolidated, Ukraine has withstood these three years, we continue our struggle. First of all, thanks to the security and defence forces, thanks to our defenders, who have been protecting our country and defending our eastern borders for three years,’" the Prime Minister accentuated.