Shortly after the outbreak of the war, a first Ukraine Recovery Conference was held in Lugano in July 2022 laying the foundation for the political process of reconstruction. After the follow-up conferences in London (2023) and Berlin (2024), the fourth conference (URC2025) took place in Rome from 10–11 July.
The Federal Council Delegate for Ukraine, Ambassador Jacques Gerber, represented Switzerland together with representatives from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss Embassy in Kyiv. The focus of URC2025 was on supporting the population, mobilising the private sector, reconstructing communities and regions, and driving reforms.
Agreement to strengthen private sector involvement
On the first day of the conference, Ambassador Jacques Gerber and Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, signed a bilateral agreement on cooperation in the reconstruction of Ukraine. The treaty approved by the Federal Council on 25 June creates the legal basis for greater involvement of the Swiss private sector in reconstruction projects and underlines Switzerland's long-term commitment.
Launch of major support projects
In addition, the Swiss delegation in Rome launched several major support projects as part of Switzerland’s Ukraine 2025–2028 country programme:
· These include the second phase of the Decentralisation for Improved Democratic Education (DECIDE) project, which supports education and decentralisation reforms in Ukraine. As a result of the war, the project has focused on creating safe learning environments, e.g. shelters for schools. In the second phase, the project will be expanded to 9 regions and 40 municipalities.
· An agreement on the Ukraine Recovery and Reconstruction Guarantee Facility (URGF) was signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The facility aims to strengthen Ukraine's private insurance market to facilitate investments in reconstruction, particularly by Swiss companies.
· In the area of health, the second phase of the Sustaining Health Sector Reform project was launched in collaboration with the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO). The project contributes to strengthening resilience, implementing reforms and helping the Ukrainian healthcare system to recover.
In the run-up to URC2025, Jacques Gerber took part in a meeting of the Ukraine Donor Platform, of which Switzerland has been an observer since April 2024. The aim of the platform is to coordinate reconstruction activities internationally. Together with the Basel Institute on Governance, Switzerland also organised a discussion on Ukraine's ongoing efforts to prevent and combat corruption. The URC2025 also offered the Swiss delegation the opportunity for numerous bilateral talks, including with representatives of the World Bank, regional authorities and companies.
Weblinks:
Support of the Confederation for the people affected by the war in Ukraine (FDFA)
Ukraine (SECO)
Ukraine) (SDC)
Address for enquiries:
Office of the Federal Council Delegate for Ukraine, c/o EAER Communications +41 58 462 20 07 info@gs-wbf.admin.ch
