The issues of demining and returning agricultural land to economic use were discussed during a meeting between Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Denise Brown, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthew Hollingworth, WFP Country Director for Ukraine, and Paul Heslop, UNDP Mine Action Coordinator in Ukraine.

During the meeting, the parties discussed current issues of mine clearance in Ukraine, the progress of survey and clearance, in particular in Kharkiv region, and the coordination of actions to return the surveyed and cleared areas to use as soon as possible.

“We are very interested in resuming economic activity as soon as possible on the agricultural land already cleared by governmental and non-governmental operators. Therefore, not only the surveying and demining, but also the procedures required by law, including the control of the work done and the transfer of responsibility for the cleared area, must be carried out quickly,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to set up a coordination group to speed up the implementation of the relevant procedures, which will facilitate the rapid return of the cleared land to use.