Poland to become ‘economic hub’ for Ukraine, says PM

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland stands to get an economic boost from agreements to help Ukraine, the prime minister said on Wednesday, as he opened temporary housing funded and built by Warsaw in a town that was largely destroyed during the war with Russia.

The country stands to benefit from possible agreements to re-export Ukrainian grain, help Ukraine rebuild its infrastructure, and by importing power from its neighbouring country.

A staunch ally of Kyiv, Poland has been one of Ukraine’s biggest financial supporters since the Feb. 24 invasion, but Mateusz Morawiecki said helping Ukraine could also benefit Poland’s economy.

“Today we are preparing several agreements between specific ministries, which will help Ukraine and give Poland an economic impulse,” Morawiecki told a news conference in the town of Borodianka near Kyiv.

“For example these are agreements concerning the export of Ukrainian grain,” he said, adding that Poland could become an economic hub for Ukraine. Poland’s railways stand to benefit from transporting Ukrainian grain to Baltic sea ports.

With Russia controlling or effectively blockading Ukrainian Black Sea ports, grain shipments from Ukraine have stalled since the invasion began, while Moscow has blamed Western sanctions for disrupting exports of both grain and fertilizer.

Morawiecki said Poland’s infrastructure ministry would be involved in road and rail projects in Ukraine, while the interior and defence ministries were also working on agreements.

“Polish companies will take part in rebuilding (Ukraine), but first we must free Ukraine.” he said.

Kyiv and Warsaw were discussing imports of electricity from Ukraine, which would support stability of Polish power system and allow Ukraine to benefit from synchronization of the power transmission grid with the European Union network.

Meanwhile, power utilities are already supplying equipment including cables and transformers to help restore electricity supplies in areas of Ukraine affected by the war.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and bombing of local refineries, Poland helped Ukraine by providing motor fuels free of charge. Now, the country’s top refiner PKN Orlen is selling fuels to Ukraine, Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said Monday.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Marek Strzelecki, Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Bernadette Baum)