Ukraine and usa sign mineral deal, Parliament to ratify 8 May
The Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine is set to convene for an extraordinary session on 8 May at 8:00 AM Greenwich Mean Time to ratify the agreement with the US regarding mineral resources, deputy Yaroslav Zhelezniak announced on Friday.
Zhelezniak announced on Telegram that the ratification vote for the USA–Ukraine minerals agreement is planned for 8 May.
Ratification of the mineral agreement with the USA on 8 May
The deputy noted that Prime Minister Shmyhal informed the parliamentarians on Friday that two of the three technical documents comprising the accord with the United States regarding minerals will not require ratification.
The Ukrainian government registered the draft law on Thursday to ratify the agreement with the USA.
The day before, the US Department of the Treasury announced that the United States and Ukraine had signed an economic partnership agreement and created the American-Ukrainian Investment Fund for Reconstruction. Department head Scott Bessent said this is a signal to Russia that the USA is committed to a peace based on a free and sovereign Ukraine.
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Julia Svyrydenko, also confirmed the signing of the agreement. As she wrote on platform X, both the USA and Ukraine will make equal contributions to the fund. For the USA, the value of future military aid will count as a contribution. On the Ukrainian side, the fund will be funded by 50% of the state's budget revenues from exploiting new resource deposits.
The USA and Ukraine establish a joint fund
The fund is set to finance extraction projects, including oil and gas, and the development of infrastructure related to the resource sector. The specific choice of projects will belong to both parties to the agreement and require a joint decision.
Contrary to initial US demands, the agreement does not oblige Ukraine to repay past American military aid with revenues from deposit exploitation. Ukrainian resource deposits are also to remain under "full control and ownership of Ukraine," the fund itself is to be jointly managed by both parties.
The US government will also assist in attracting additional investments and technologies to Ukraine through the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
