Switzerland to release another CHF1.5 billion for Ukraine

Journalists listen as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the Third Ministerial Roundtable Discussion for Support to Ukraine being held at World Bank Group headquarters in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. Keystone / Shawn Thew

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has emphasised Switzerland’s commitment to long-term support for Ukraine. The government said it intends to provide at least another CHF1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) by 2028.

The support is to be provided as part of the international cooperation strategy for 2025 to 2028, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

Together with the CHF300 million earmarked for 2023 and 2024, Switzerland would support Ukraine with at least CHF1.8 billion over the next six years, it said.

Swiss cantons have also donated five ambulances to Ukraine, it was announced on Thursday. Three fire engines and fire fighting equipment will also be delivered in the coming weeks.

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Speaking at the spring meeting of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, DC, Cassis also emphasised the importance of the Lugano Declaration, the result of the first conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine, held in the Swiss city of Lugano in July 2022.

According to Cassis, the declaration contains important guiding principles for reforms and transparency which are necessary for sustainable reconstruction.

Before the conference Cassis met Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. He also wants to use his stay in Washington to establish contacts with high-ranking representatives of the WBG and the countries that belong to Switzerland’s constituency in the so-called Bretton Woods institutions (WBG and IMF).

America strategy

Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter and Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan will also take part in the IMF conference on Friday. The two will present “Switzerland’s most recent measures to safeguard financial stability” at the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, according to the foreign ministry.

The conference comes almost a month after Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, imploded, requiring a government-ordered merger with rival UBS.

The foreign ministry also emphasised that since February 2022 the government has been pursuing an America strategy with which “Switzerland is striving for a coherent approach towards the American continent and to strengthen the coherence of Swiss foreign policy”.

As part of the implementation of this strategy, Cassis will travel to Chicago on Friday to take stock of the re-opening of the consulate general there. The re-opening corresponded to a request from parliament, which had called for more support for Swiss companies in the greater Chicago area.