Switzerland gives CHF60 million to Ukraine for digitalisation
Keystone/Christian Beutler
The Swiss government has agreed to give war-ravaged Ukraine CHF58.7 million ($65.5 million) for the digitalisation of its public administration. The money will be channelled into projects in areas directly affected by the war over the next four years, the government said on Friday.
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The money will be used for projects in healthcare, education and humanitarian demining. The Federal Council is re-directing funds from Switzerland’s regular international cooperation budget.
The government justified this by stating that Switzerland is using the grant to promote democratic reforms in Ukraine through digitalisation and at the same time to increase the transparency of state services. Both areas are of central importance for the reconstruction of the country, which has been under attack from Russia since February 2022.
Ukraine has recently pushed ahead with digitalisation thanks to support from Switzerland and other international partners. For example, over 20 million Ukrainians now use the Diia app to pay taxes or renew their travel documents.
Switzerland intends to announce its support towards digitalisation and e-governance at the next reconstruction conference for Ukraine. This will take place on June 11-12 in Berlin, Germany. The previous conferences were held in Lugano, Switzerland, in 2022 and London, UK, in 2023.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kc/sb
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