On Friday 8 September, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs Franz Fayot visited Ukraine. The primary objective of the trip was to assess how Luxembourg can potentially enhance and adapt its assistance to Ukraine, particularly concerning reconstruction efforts and humanitarian aid.
In Kyiv, Minister Fayot held meetings with key officials, including Yulia Svyrydenko, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Trade; Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine and Minister of Development of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure; and Serhiy Marchenko, the Minister of Finance.
The high-level discussions primarily revolved around understanding the needs and priorities of the Ukrainian government.
In this context, Fayot reiterated Luxembourg’s unwavering commitment to supporting Ukraine in its journey toward reconstruction, alongside its ongoing humanitarian endeavours, noting that the Grand Duchy had recently stepped up its efforts in this direction.
He indicated that Luxembourg was poised to allocate €1 million to finance a new project led by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). This initiative aims to rebuild livestock shelters and safeguard agricultural production within Ukraine.
The Minister also announced that Luxembourg would be making an additional contribution to the humanitarian NGO HALO Trust, which specialises in mine clearance activities, ensuring the safe return of displaced populations. This support is in addition to the humanitarian financial contributions of around €11.4 million and in-kind donations of around €10 million that Luxembourg has provided to Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022.
During the two meetings with Ministers Svyrydenko and Marchenko, the importance of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to stimulate the Ukrainian economy was also discussed.
Finally, the trip gave Fayot the opportunity to meet representatives of various humanitarian partners active in Ukraine. These included the Luxembourg Red Cross, the Ukrainian Red Cross, Caritas Luxembourg, Caritas-Spes, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
In addition, an on-site visit to Myla offered insights into the demining efforts of the NGO HALO Trust, an organisation that has received support from Luxembourg Cooperation since 2022.
