Denys Uliutin during working visit to Germany: Recovery of Ukraine must be people-centred

During his working visit to Germany, Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine Denys Uliutin held a meeting with German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Reem Alabali Radovan. The parties discussed key areas of cooperation in the context of Ukraine’s recovery.

“For Ukraine, recovery must be comprehensive. Infrastructure, the economy and social policy cannot be considered separately – the person must be at the centre of recovery. This means creating conditions in which people can integrate into communities ready to accept them, have access to housing, work, education and social services, and remain active members of society,” Denys Uliutin noted.

Particular attention during the meeting was paid to strengthening the capacity of communities to receive internally displaced persons and Ukrainians returning from abroad. In this context, the Minister highlighted the support of the German Government, in particular through the implementation of the project “YOUA – Shaping New Paths, Building Ukraine’s Future”. The project aims to provide convenient access to information and services that people may need on their return journey to Ukraine, as well as to support their integration into economic and social life at the local level.

“Today our task is to understand the real needs of communities and people in order to build a coherent return and reintegration policy. Analytics and digital tools play a key role in this. We plan to present such a tool at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) as a practical example of how data-driven policy can work to support people,” Denys Uliutin added.

In addition, the parties discussed the development of a social rental housing model as a tool for recovery. This approach makes it possible to quickly engage the existing housing stock, provide affordable rental housing for internally displaced persons and vulnerable groups, and create a sustainable social housing fund.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue cooperation in supporting the recovery of Ukraine.