The Swiss government will provide 30 million Swiss francs (about $34.7 million) to support the work of the Geneva-based Fondation suisse de déminage (FSD) in Ukraine until 2027, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has said.
“These are players at the forefront. We need a strategy, but above all we need the men and women who do the work and the machines. I believe that with this contribution, the Swiss Foundation will be able to significantly expand its activities,” he said at a conference on Thursday in Lausanne at the Second Annual Ukraine Mine Action Conference (UMAC-2024).
Cassis noted that with this support, the FSD will be more confident in its work, as it knows that Ukraine’s strategic mine action plan will be funded in the long term and therefore it can commit to it.
The Foreign Minister noted that such international conferences often become a catalyst for government decisions to allocate support, and expressed hope that other countries would follow the example of Switzerland, which last year also allocated CHF100 million for demining to Ukraine over four years.
“The purpose of the conference, which aims to strengthen international cooperation and support for humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, is precisely to share knowledge and best practices at the technical level and at the same time at the political level to ensure support, not only moral but also financial and strategic, for the recovery, which is not an easy task,” said Cassis.
He noted that the conference will result in a call to action.
“We don’t need new rules, we don’t need papers, we need action. And it is on this word that we would like to focus the attention of all those present here today,” the Foreign Minister emphasized.
According to him, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression, Switzerland has allocated about CHF3.7 billion to Ukraine, most of which is intended for 65 thousand Ukrainians who have been accepted by the country.
Cassis said that the Swiss government has decided to remain committed to Ukraine for the next 12 years, and expects that the country’s parliament will reconsider its decision and approve the allocation of CHF1.5 billion over the next four years for a program for Ukraine, which includes humanitarian demining, as well as recovery, digitalization, decentralization and other projects.
He added that a program for spending these funds is being prepared, which will provide a general picture of what Switzerland wants to do over the next four years.
“Some things still have to be approved by the parliament. Discussions are ongoing. I am confident that by the end of the year we will have positive decisions to maintain our support for Ukraine,” he concluded.
Fourteen EU countries, as well as Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, have signed an appeal calling on the EU executive to propose new rules to strengthen return policies, Politico reports.
In their letter to the European Commission, 17 European countries ask for new rules that will allow governments to detain illegal migrants if they pose a threat to national security, force migrants to cooperate with authorities, and ensure that all EU countries use the same data management software.
The letter to the Commission states that migrants who do not have the right to stay in the EU “must be brought to justice.”
It is noted that Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein have also signed the appeal, although they are not members of the EU, they are members of the Schengen area.
The publication notes that the push comes amid a right-wing and anti-immigration shift in many EU countries.
Swiss company LLC Global Clearance Solutions Ukraine will join the demining of territories in Kyiv region, the press service of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration (KOVA) reports.
As reported, the relevant Memorandum was signed by the head of KOVA Ruslan Kravchenko and the CEO of the Swiss company “LLC Global Clearance Solutions Ukraine” Dmitry Salimonov. This is a company by engineering and production facilities in Germany and representative offices around the world.
“After the fighting in the de-occupied territories of Kyivshchyna, there are a lot of explosive objects left. There are great dangers for the civilian population. Specialists of the State Emergency Situations Service continue demining works, but exclusively the forces of Ukrainian specialists and budget funds are not enough. Therefore, we attract certified operators, as well as funding from international partners, so that demining does not stretch for many years. Another important issue is the proper amount of professional equipment,” Kravchenko explained.
It is noted that the Swiss company provides a wide range of mine action assistance, in particular project management, consulting, survey and cleanup, capacity building, and training.
In 2024-2028, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will allocate 58.7 million francs for the digitalization and development of Ukrainian regions, including the digitalization of healthcare, education, humanitarian demining, and electronic notary.
According to Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology and Minister of Digital Transformation, this is stipulated in a memorandum signed on Wednesday.
“I met with Felix Baumann, Ambassador of Switzerland to Ukraine. The main result of the meeting is the signing of a memorandum for 58.7 million francs ($68.1 million) with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC),” Fedorov wrote in a telegram.
According to him, the funds will be allocated during 2024-2028 and will be used for the digitalization and development of Ukrainian regions, with projects implemented under the EGAP program implemented by the Eastern Europe Foundation. “We are focusing on the digitalization of healthcare services, electronic notary, education, humanitarian demining, and we continue to restart the State Statistics Service. Part of the funds will be used to support the frontline regions, and it is important to ensure access to public services in every community,” Fedorov listed the areas of use of the funds.
Fedorov recalled that with the support of the Swiss government, in 2024 alone, they launched an online marriage and a pilot of the Mriya project for 40 schools, and began testing Diia for civil servants. “We held another international Diia.Summit in Zurich, strengthening the international brand of digital Ukraine. It was there that we signed a memorandum on the opening of the Govtech center together with the World Economic Forum,” said Fedorov.
In general, Switzerland has been supporting digitalization since 2015 through the EGAP program, with partners allocating more than 30 million francs.
The Peace Summit, which will open on Saturday, June 15, in Switzerland, will be attended by 100 delegations, of which 92 represent states from around the world and 8 – international organizations, according to the press service of the Swiss government.
“President Viola Amerd will open the Summit on Peace in Ukraine on Saturday, June 15. The summit will be attended by 100 delegations, including 57 heads of state and government from around the world. The purpose of the summit is to launch a peace process, build trust and identify ideas on the next steps towards such a process. All states present should be given the opportunity to put forward their vision of a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” the statement said.
The Swiss government has allocated CHF 58.7 million (EUR 60.6 million at the NBU exchange rate – IF-U) to continue supporting Ukraine in the field of digitalization and e-government over the next four years.
The decision was made by the Federal Council at a meeting on June 7, the Swiss government’s press service reports.
“Thus, Switzerland promotes democratic reforms in Ukraine through digitalization and at the same time increases the transparency of public services. Both areas are crucial for Ukraine’s recovery,” the statement said.
Switzerland will provide a total of 58.7 million Swiss francs in the period 2024-2028. The funding will come from the regular budget for international cooperation and will focus in particular on projects in regions directly affected by the war and important for the country’s future recovery. Some of the key areas will include health, education, and humanitarian demining.
It is noted that Switzerland will announce its support in the field of digitalization and e-government at the next Ukraine Recovery Conference, which will be held on June 11 and 12, 2024 in Berlin.
