Spain will help Ukraine with humanitarian demining.

The Spanish Agency is interested in expanding cooperation with Ukraine

The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) is interested in expanding cooperation with Ukraine. In particular, the agency will consider participating in humanitarian demining projects, as well as co-financing projects with international financial organizations in various fields.

This was discussed during a meeting of Deputy Ministers of Economy Volodymyr Kuzio and Ihor Bezkaraaivny with the AECID delegation in Kyiv, headed by AECID Director Anton Leis and with the participation of the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Ukraine Ricardo Lopez-Aranda Jagu.

The demining market and other directions of mine action in Ukraine

As Ihor Bezkaraaivny told during the meeting, the Ukrainian Government is currently working on creating a demining market. The key element of the market – compensation to farmers who purchased the demining service for their lands – has already been launched, and today there are already 90 applications from farmers who want state assistance. Other important directions in mine action include finding and implementing innovative solutions in mine action, organizing land clearing based on comprehensive criteria, considering social, economic (including in agriculture), environmental, and other related factors.

"In the field of mine action in Ukraine, a broad international coalition has been created today – countries, international organizations, donors, and manufacturers are involved in solving various issues. We are constantly working on expanding cooperation with partners and have proposals for various directions of work in this field. We have projects related to innovations in the data field, which they can join. We encourage strengthening cooperation with Ukrainian manufacturers, with mine action operators, which will accelerate the demining of Ukrainian lands," said Ihor Bezkaraaivny.

Cooperation in the field of recovery and investment

Another important topic of discussion was cooperation with AECID in the field of recovery, attracting investment, and participating in supporting programs for small and medium-sized business development.

Currently, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation is already actively working in Ukraine. In particular, it is making efforts to support the resilience of the private sector and the vital economic infrastructure of the country through the Ukrainian banking system and private investments. To this end, the agency cooperates with the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group (IFC). AECID also supports projects to strengthen energy resilience in schools and educational centers in Ukraine that have been severely affected by Russian military aggression and implements a number of other humanitarian projects.

Attracting investment and cooperation between Ukrainian and Spanish businesses

As Deputy Minister of Economy Volodymyr Kuzio noted, Ukraine is interested in attracting investments into the economy and strengthening cooperation between Ukrainian and Spanish businesses. In turn, Spanish businesses are showing interest in working in Ukraine. In particular, a month ago, a Ukrainian-Spanish business forum was held with the participation of representatives of more than two dozen large Spanish companies.

"Currently, we have prepared an Investment Guide, which provides an overview of Ukraine's investment landscape, analysis of priority sectors – energy, infrastructure, agriculture, green metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, critical materials, and IT. In addition, the guide offers 95 investment projects worth 27 billion US dollars to investors. The guide will help investors navigate the opportunities that Ukraine offers," Volodymyr Kuzio noted.

According to him, the Ministry of Economy will continue to provide investors with the information they need to make investment decisions and will facilitate the establishment of contacts between foreign and international companies.