Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, met with Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway.

The Deputy Prime Minister thanked Norway for its systematic support of Ukraine.

Oleksii Kuleba outlined to the Norwegian partners the priority areas of the Ministry's work for the coming period. He stressed that Ukraine was starting the heating season amid russia's attempts to destroy Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

‘In the context of russia's constant attacks on our infrastructure, our cooperation in the restoration of critical infrastructure is relevant and important. In addition, we are now focusing our policy on the fact that people who will return to Ukraine should have an understanding of where they are returning to. Also, the occupied territories should not be left out of our attention," said Oleksii Kuleba.

He asked Norway to support Ukraine in its efforts to strengthen global food security, which is constantly threatened by russia. Only recently, the aggressor has fired several times at port infrastructure and ships that were supposed to deliver food around the world.

Natalia Kozlovska, Deputy Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, thanked Norway for its support of housing policy, in particular in the development of the Law “On the Basic Principles of State Housing Policy”, which is intended to replace the outdated Soviet legislation.

Tymur Tkachenko, Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, noted that the issue of preserving the Ukrainian Sea Corridor as a logistics hub and an opportunity to supply the world with food remained of great importance to both the Ministry and Ukraine.

In response, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide stressed that Ukraine can count on Norway as a reliable partner in the long term. Norway will continue to support the functioning of the Ukrainian corridor.

"We support all Ukraine's projects and at the same time understand that your country is at war. Therefore, we are trying to remind our population that Ukraine needs military and social support. We are also ready to support Ukraine in its aspirations to join NATO and become a member of the European Union," he said.

As a reminder, the Nansen Programme was adopted by the Norwegian Government in February last year to provide Ukraine with long-term assistance. Ukraine will receive over EUR 1.3 billion (NOK 15 billion) annually.

In addition, in December 2023, the Norwegian government has already allocated about USD 100 million to Ukraine to restore infrastructure after the russian missile strikes. Prior to that, Norway provided NOK 300 million in budget support to Ukraine through the World Bank. These funds were used to pay salaries to healthcare workers, teachers and public sector employees, as well as to provide pensions and social benefits.