Humanitarian demining is one of the key priorities for Ukraine's rapid recovery, as it is about people's safety, restoring the full operation of agricultural enterprises, and establishing food supply chains, in particular, it is a matter of global food security, of which Ukraine is the guarantor. To intensify all the necessary processes for the rapid and high-quality survey and clearance of land, the Government is working on a comprehensive Mine Action Strategy involving the expertise and experience of international partners such as Croatia.

This was discussed during a meeting of the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko with a Croatian delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia Gordan Grlić Radman.

"We are closely working with our international partners to launch a humanitarian demining market in Ukraine, purchase special equipment, train deminers, certify private demining operators and organize our own production. Currently, Ukraine has 174,000 square kilometers of potentially contaminated land, and we have only 3,000 deminers and 26 demining vehicles. We are looking for solutions on how to properly develop the process of humanitarian demining and return to the productive use of the territories. Croatia's experience in this matter is of great value to us," emphasized Yuliia Svyrydenko.

In his turn, Minister Gordan Grlić Radman noted that the Government of Croatia aimed to support Ukraine in its efforts to clear the land as soon as possible to strengthen the economic and social sectors.

In particular, this includes support for the project to localize the production of demining equipment in Ukraine by such Croatian companies as DOK-ING and Duro Dakovic Group Plc. He noted that DOK-ING plans to open an office in Ukraine. A series of expert meetings with demining specialists will also be held to help develop the Mine Action Strategy.

In addition, the International Conference of Donors for Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine will be held in Zagreb, Croatia, on October 11 and 12. The conference will serve as a platform to mobilize additional international support and resources for mine action initiatives in Ukraine.

Also, during a meeting with Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman and World Food Program (WFP) Representative and Country Director in Ukraine Matthew Hollingworth, a Memorandum was signed on the survey of agricultural land in Ukraine, its clearance of explosives and the safe resumption of agricultural production. The program also helps farmers restore soil and produce after the land is liberated.

The Croatian Government has donated EUR 1 million to WFP to help Ukrainian farmers resume work in the regions most affected by the explosive remnants of war. This is Croatia's largest donation to WFP.

"We are sincerely pleased with this initiative. Farmers in Kharkiv, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions will be the first to join the program. I hope that in a year we will manage to expand the program, and at the same time we, as the Government, are working to strengthen the capacity of our state institutions, the State Emergency Service, and the Ministry of Defense. By the end of the year, we plan to at least double the number of sappers and vehicles, and continue demining the liberated territories, agricultural land and forests," emphasized Yuliia Svyrydenko.

Background

The United Nations World Food Program is the world's largest humanitarian organization that saves lives in emergencies and uses food aid to build a path to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, natural disasters and the effects of climate change.

WFP works in Ukraine to provide food and cash assistance to war-affected Ukrainians and works closely with farmers, bakeries and other producers to restore or maintain food production and food systems.