Business news from Ukraine

During the annual Conference on Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine–2024 (UMAC-2024), partner countries announced nearly $70 million in additional commitments to support humanitarian demining. Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Canada pledged additional funding. Since 2022, the total contribution from international partners has reached $1.07 billion.

“We greatly appreciate the contributions made by our partners to humanitarian demining in Ukraine. This is not just about equipment, funds, or projects – it’s about saving lives in Ukraine and restoring global food security. Thanks to this consistent support, we have already made significant progress in demining. A year ago, we met with partners at a demining forum in Zagreb, Croatia. At the time, we had 18 operators, around 3,000 deminers, and 32 demining machines. Today, 58 operators have been certified, the number of deminers has increased to over 4,000, and 98 demining machines are in operation,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy.

Luxembourg allocated $13 million for humanitarian demining projects in Ukraine. These funds will go to projects implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ($10.8 million), the international organization HALO Trust ($1.08 million), and through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism ($1.08 million).

Norway also announced additional funding for demining in Ukraine. The country will allocate $20 million for 2025, increasing its total contribution to $70 million. Norway’s efforts are focused on funding field operations, supporting affected communities, and strengthening demining capabilities.

The Netherlands, which has already contributed over $40 million to humanitarian demining in Ukraine, announced an additional $10.8 million for projects in 2025.

Canada will provide $24.5 million for humanitarian demining needs in Ukraine, bringing its total contribution to over $50 million.

The government of Latvia allocated over €270,000 for humanitarian demining in Ukraine. These funds will go to HALO Trust, whose specialists are working to clear land in several regions of Ukraine affected by military operations.

Switzerland, the host country of UMAC-2024, announced plans to deliver three heavy GCS-200 demining machines to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES). The symbolic handover of the first machine took place during the conference. Switzerland also committed to providing 30 million Swiss francs to one of the projects of the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD), which operates in Ukraine. This funding is part of a previously announced assistance package worth 100 million Swiss francs.

The governments of Switzerland and the United Kingdom are ready to fund a pilot project for prioritizing humanitarian demining efforts. The system, based on a platform from the tech giant Palantir, will use large-scale data to determine priority areas for demining. The pilot project in Kharkiv region will last for three months.

The U.S., which announced $102 million in humanitarian demining assistance in September, introduced an initiative at the conference aimed at increasing the capacity of private demining operators. They plan to assess the needs of Ukrainian operators and strengthen their knowledge of how international donor organizations work, which will help these operators attract future international support. The first step in this direction could be strengthening cooperation between Ukrainian and international operators.

A final document supporting humanitarian demining in Ukraine was signed by 42 countries. One of its key points is that demining efforts should remain on the international agenda. The signatories committed to minimizing the impact of mines and war remnants on people’s lives through demining operations and the development of innovative technologies.

I. Representation:

1. Representatives from over 60 countries and international organisations participated.
2. The conference was opened by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Amherd, and the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal.
3. High-level participants of UMAC 2024 included: First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko, Swiss Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Gordan Grlić-Radman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Elmedin Konaković, Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoshifumi Tsuge, UN Deputy Secretary-General and UNDP Deputy Administrator Haoliang Xu, Senior Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia and First Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority Dr. Ly Thuch, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Stanley L. Brown, among others.

II. Financial Commitments:

During UMAC-2024, partner countries announced additional commitments for humanitarian demining, amounting to nearly $70 million. Since 2022, the total partner contribution to humanitarian demining has reached $1.07 billion.

1. Switzerland committed 30 million Swiss francs to one of the projects of the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) operating in Ukraine. This funding is part of the previously announced 100 million Swiss francs assistance package.
2. Luxembourg allocated $13 million for humanitarian demining projects in Ukraine. The funds will support projects implemented by UNDP’s “Mine Action in Ukraine” project ($10.8 million), HALO Trust ($1.08 million), and through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism ($1.08 million).
3. Norway provided an additional $20 million for 2025, increasing its total contribution to $70 million.
4. The Netherlands announced an additional $10.8 million for projects in 2025, bringing the country’s total contribution to over $50 million for humanitarian demining in Ukraine.
5. Canada confirmed its $24.5 million contribution for demining efforts in Ukraine, first announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in January 2024. This brings Canada’s total contribution to over $50 million.
6. The Latvian government allocated over €270,000 for humanitarian demining in Ukraine, to be received by HALO Trust, which conducts clearance lands in several regions affected by the conflict.

III. Additional Agreements:

1. Switzerland announced the donation of three GCS-200 demining mashines to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service’s explosive ordnance disposal units.
2. During UMAC 2024, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy and Global Clearance Solutions Ukraine Ltd. regarding cooperation in humanitarian demining.
3. The governments of Switzerland and the UK are funding a pilot project in the Kharkiv region to prioritise demining operations. The project will last for three months, and a broader initiative was presented to international partners, inviting the UK, Switzerland, USA, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, UN, EBRD, among others, to support it.
4. The U.S. announced an initiative to enhance the capacity of private humanitarian demining operators. They plan to assess the needs of Ukrainian operators to strengthen understanding of international donor organisations’ work.
5. During the UMAC 2024 innovation financing meeting, participants agreed to create an international technical working group to develop legal, organisational, and other aspects of the global “front-loading” mechanism for financing humanitarian demining. The mechanism will target not only Ukraine but also other countries in need, with the group expected to launch by the end of 2024. Representatives from the UK, Ukraine, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, France, Sweden, and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining participated.
6. A final document was signed by 42 countries, committing to support humanitarian demining in Ukraine. A key point emphasised that mine action must remain on the international agenda, with signatories committed to minimising the impact of mines and remnants of war on people’s lives through land clearance and technological innovation.
7. Following a meeting with HALO Trust’s CEO James Cowan, an invitation was extended to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, to visit Ukraine to draw international attention to humanitarian demining.
8. Switzerland announced the Third Partner Coordination Workshop on Mine Action in Ukraine, scheduled for April 7-8, 2025. The previous workshop was held in Kyiv on April 17-18, 2024.