On December 3, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Switzerland to Ukraine and Moldova Claude Wild signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of Ukraine and Switzerland on the Ukrainian-Swiss project "Budgeting the production of medical ventilators in response to COVID-19 challenges" Project Phase I.

"The Memorandum between the Governments of Ukraine and Switzerland is a clear example of how we stand side by side with our European partners in the fight against COVID-19. The opening of a production line in the Khmelnytsky region for the manufacture of ventilators will provide public medical facilities with affordable equipment and guarantee care for seriously ill patients with coronavirus. It is also important that this decision will support Ukraine's economy. It is this format of localization of production that allows us to create new jobs, exchange experiences and technologies and, at the same time, strengthen our cooperation with international partners. It is symbolic that the center for European investments will be the city where we plan to open the next European Integration Office," said Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna.

This decision will allow for attracting a grant of up to 1.5 million Swiss francs (over $ 1.6 million) for the construction of a production line for lung ventilators in Khmelnytsky. The devices were developed by the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). Production will take place on the basis of the state enterprise "Novator", which is part of the SC "Ukroboronprom" and is a certified manufacturer of medical equipment in Ukraine.