Ukraine’s Zelenskiy meets JPMorgan’s Dimon in Davos in new pitch for economic aid – day after asking Switzerland to mediate ‘high-level peace talks’

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky told the world’s most powerful banker that his country is open for business as they met for the first time today.

JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon said “God bless you” as he shook hands with the Ukrainian president ahead of a call with Wall Street financiers at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

It came amid ongoing rows in Washington over a planned $61 billion package of military and financial aid, and a day after Zelensky asked his Swiss hosts to organize a “high-level peace conference” amid the ongoing war with Russia .

“Attracting private capital for the reconstruction of Ukraine is important to us,” Zelensky tweeted as he left the meeting.

“We hope that JP Morgan will help attract a large number of global investors and companies to the Ukrainian economy.”

The JPMorgan boss met the Ukrainian president along with some of Wall Street’s biggest investors, including David Rubinstein of the Carlyle Group, Michael Dell of Dell Technologies, Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman and Philipp Hildebrand of BlackRock.

It came a day after he asked Switzerland to organize a “high-level peace conference” to end two years of fighting in Ukraine.

Zelensky did not invite Russia to the peace conference after calling for a complete Russian withdrawal from all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, reparations and the prosecution of war crimes.

But he strongly called on China to participate, in a possible attempt to dislodge Beijing from its geopolitical partner.

“We are open to all countries that respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity during the peace summit,” he said in Davos.

“We would certainly want the countries of the Global South to be there, and we would certainly want China to be involved.”

Ukraine plans to reopen the airport in the capital Kiev to passenger planes this spring for the first time since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

And Zelenskiy was keen to play up the resilience of the Ukrainian economy at the ‘CEOs for Ukraine’ summit at the Alpine resort.

“I emphasized Ukraine’s economic growth of more than five percent in 2023, as well as optimistic forecasts for 2024,” he said.

Zelensky spoke to Wall Street executives in September when JPMorgan hosted an event for him in New York.

And despite executives from America’s largest bank visiting last year, the country has struggled to attract foreign investment with its survival at stake.

But he was joined by a glittering group of money men, including David Rubinstein of the Carlyle Group, Michael Dell of Dell Technologies and Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund.

Also in the room were Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, who runs the world’s largest private equity fund, and Philipp Hildebrand of BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager.

Zelensky told them that inflation in the country had fallen from 30 percent two years ago to six percent now, but that Ukraine’s financial problems have been exacerbated by the blocking of a promised $54 billion aid package from the EU, which Hungary vetoed. has spoken about.

The Ukrainian president also met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan for talks on the current standoff on Ukraine’s battlefield.

“We discussed ways to increase international investment in Ukraine, especially in defense production, and emphasized that increased defense cooperation and co-production will increase Ukraine’s self-reliance while reducing dependence on foreign military and financial assistance,” it tweeted he.

It came as the prospect of further US support dimmed following Donald Trump’s landslide victory in the Iowa caucus.

The former president has criticized US aid to Ukraine and again threatened to impose a solution to the conflict “within 24 hours” if he is re-elected president in November.

Republican rival Ron DeSantis has also threatened to scale back U.S. aid pledges, which currently stand at $113 billion.

Zelensky also held a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, with the war in Ukraine apparently at an impasse.

Zelensky emphasized that the US president is “a choice for the American nation and only for the American nation,” as he was questioned by reporters.

But he admitted that “radical voices from the Republican Party” worry him.

“In wartime, everything hurts more, everything is more sensitive,” he added.

“Some radical voices are really scaring society in Ukraine.”