This was agreed upon during the meeting between the Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine – the Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, Oleksiy Kuleba, and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Switzerland to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, Felix Baumann.

"I thank Switzerland for its constant and systematic support, which gives us the feeling that we are not one-on-one with the enemy. For my part, I can say that the Ministry now has additional responsibility, which is important within the framework of our interaction. We have added the sphere of support for internally displaced persons, of whom there are currently more than 4.5 million in Ukraine. Therefore, one of the cooperation focuses is the construction of housing for such categories. We are interested in activating regional programs, and we could expand our cooperation within the framework of the funding offered by Switzerland," said Oleksiy Kuleba.

The Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Switzerland to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, Felix Baumann, noted that while in his position, he visited the regions several times, which allowed him to assess Ukraine's needs independently.

He also emphasized that Switzerland has been implementing support programs for our country for a long time. These are issues of decentralization and restoration programs, as well as joint projects with Ukrzaliznytsia and assistance in preparation for the heating season. Currently, the Government of Switzerland offers additional aid programs to Ukraine.

"Another important focus of our cooperation remains the "Early Recovery" projects, within the framework of which the Swiss Government plans to allocate 1.5 billion Swiss francs for reconstruction projects in Ukraine for the next 4 years. Of these, 1 billion will be directed, as before, to the self-government, demining, and humanitarian aid sectors. The rest of the amount will be directed to recovery programs with the involvement of the Swiss private sector. To emphasize the seriousness of our intentions, our representative will work here, who will be responsible for the implementation of this project. Right now, a delegation of the private sector is working in Kyiv, which is familiar with the needs of Ukraine in the spheres for which the ministry is responsible, in the medium and long term," said Felix Baumann.

The assistance of Swiss partners will help create new jobs in the regions.

Separately, the parties discussed cooperation between the Ministry and the Government of Switzerland within the framework of the sectoral working group on decentralization and regional policy. They focused attention on the thematic content of this group’s work, which should increase the effectiveness of regional policy formation.

The Ministry representatives also met with the delegation of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which arrived in Ukraine to hold the 14th meeting of the Ukrainian-Swiss Joint Committee. At the Ministry, SECO representatives presented a plan of measures aimed at supporting Ukraine’s recovery with the involvement of the Swiss private sector.

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