By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - Senior U.S. officials traveled to Kyiv this week for a meeting of the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, with both sides hoping to move forward soon with a first investment project, U.S. and Ukrainian officials said.
The fund, established as part of a minerals deal signed between the U.S. and Ukraine in April, began operations in December. Focused on investments in critical minerals and other strategic sectors, it is expected to reach $200 million by the end of the year. Ukrainian officials hope to announce three initial investment projects this year.
The U.S. delegation includes Conor Coleman, head of investments at the U.S. International Development Finance Corp, and Jonathan Taylor, the agency's associate general counsel, as well as Jonathan Greenstein, deputy undersecretary of the Treasury for international finance.
Ukraine Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev, Deputy Economy Minister Yegor Perelyhina and State Secretary Oleksandr Karasevych will participate in Wednesday's meeting, along with Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, a Ukrainian official said.
The joint board's investment committee may meet to approve a first investment project, if due diligence efforts are completed in time, the Ukrainian official said.
“We are working hard to bring the first deal to the investment committee for approval. For the moment we think that it is on track to happen," the official said.
The official said the fund aimed to fund investments in three priority areas - critical minerals, hydrocarbon extraction and dual-use technologies — this year.
DFC in January launched an online portal for applicants to submit new projects to the reconstruction fund.
The meetings in Kyiv come days after U.S. and Ukrainian delegations carried out two days of bilateral talks in Miami, Florida, on finding ways to end the four-year war with Russia, although the war in Iran has overshadowed those efforts.
United Nations Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council on Monday that an estimated 15,364 civilians, including 775 children, had been killed in Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.
U.S. Undersecretary of State Christopher Landau told the council that the United States remained committed to working with both Russia and Ukraine to end the war.
"We reiterate our call on both sides to negotiate in good faith, in a spirit of flexibility, compromises and a duty to protect and preserve the lives of their citizens," Landau said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Don Durfee and Cynthia Osterman)
