Switzerland and Ukraine sign reconstruction treaty

Switzerland and Ukraine sign state treaty on reconstruction Keystone-SDA

Switzerland and Ukraine have signed an international treaty in Rome to cooperate in the reconstruction of the war-torn country.

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The Ukraine Recovery Conference is being held in the Italian capital.

The legal basis for the bilateral agreement is provided by the State Treaty approved by the Federal Council on June 25. It emphasises the increased involvement of the Swiss private sector in reconstruction projects in Ukraine and Switzerland’s long-term commitment.

The Swiss delegation in Rome launched several support projects at the conference. These projects focus on decentralisation and democratic education and training in Ukraine, among other things. Further projects are due to be signed on Friday.

Together with the Basel Institute on Governance, Switzerland also organised a discussion on Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to prevent and combat corruption.

Switzerland was represented at the fourth Ukraine Reconstruction Conference since the Russian military invasion by Ambassador Jacques Gerber, while Ukraine was represented by its Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko.

By the end of May this year, the Swiss Confederation had already provided around CHF5.16 billion to support the people affected by the war in Ukraine and Switzerland. From 2025 to 2036, Ukraine will receive a further CHF5 billion in support.

Billions in damage

At European level, a new fund to repair the damage caused by the war in Ukraine was launched in Rome on Thursday. The private sector is to contribute to the fund. The money is to flow in particular into the repair and construction of energy plants, but also into industrial companies and digital data centres.

According to information from Berlin, the new fund initially comprises €1 billion. According to official figures, more than €16 billion have been mobilised at four reconstruction conferences to date. The total cost of reconstruction in Ukraine is estimated by the World Bank at more than €500 billion. Ukraine is demanding the confiscation of Russian assets to pay for this.

The impetus for a broad agreement on the political reconstruction process in Ukraine was provided in Lugano in July 2022. At the Lugano Recovery Conference, chaired by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, representatives of 59 states and international organisations discussed the key points that were then formulated in the Lugano Declaration and the Lugano Principles.