On January 23, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukraine and Switzerland signed a Memorandum of Understanding as part of efforts to engage the Swiss private sector in recovery and reconstruction projects. The document was signed by Guy Parmelin, Federal Councillor, Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, and Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine.
According to the memorandum, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) will allocate CHF 50 million for projects of Swiss companies operating in Ukraine. This funding will cover projects in key sectors of the economy where Swiss companies are present in Ukraine and will be in line with the Government’s strategic priorities.
“Ukraine’s recovery needs are estimated at over $500 billion. We hope that the private sector will be the driving force behind this recovery. Ukraine highly appreciates the contribution of Swiss business to support our economic resilience. Prior to the full-scale invasion, Switzerland was one of the five leading investor countries in Ukraine. Today, we are deepening our cooperation. I am grateful to Switzerland for its decision to allocate CHF 50 million as part of a broader package of support for development projects. This memorandum is just the beginning, and we expect more recovery projects to be supported in the future. We encourage Swiss businesses to participate and strengthen their presence in Ukraine,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.
In late January SECO will start selecting proposals to launch the projects in July. The Government of Ukraine, SECO and the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine will jointly shortlist projects in the first call for proposals based on predefined criteria.
The memorandum also lays the groundwork for the subsequent signing of the Agreement between the Governments of Switzerland and Ukraine on technical and financial cooperation in the implementation of public projects from the United Portfolio of Public Investment Projects approved by the Strategic Investment Council. (Government portal)