Press releases, 25.4.2024

Minister Tavio visits Kiev to support reconstruction of Ukraine

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio visited Kiev on 25 April.

During his visit, Minister Tavio met Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko and Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov. The Ministers discussed Finland’s support for Ukraine, Ukraine’s reconstruction needs and future cooperation between the countries.

Finnish companies and key actors, such as EastCham Finland, Finnfund and Business Finland, participated in the meetings along with Minister Tavio. The visit showcased Finnish technological know-how that can be used to promote the reconstruction of Ukraine and the participation of Finnish companies in the reconstruction market.

“Finland will support Ukraine as long as necessary. Ukraine will need our extensive, long-term support to repair damage caused by Russia’s ongoing aggression. Finnish companies are interested in various areas of reconstruction, including technical planning, the energy sector, the clean transition, the environment and telecommunications,” says Minister Tavio.

During his visit, Minister Tavio announced that Finland would provide EUR 2.5 million in funding for the work of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Ukraine in 2024–2027.  The support will be used to assess environmental damage caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, to plan repair measures and to develop Ukraine’s environmental administration. The support will complement Finland’s work as a co-chair of the working group on environmental safety of Ukraine’s Peace Formula. Minister Tavio also discussed Finland’s development cooperation and humanitarian assistance in Ukraine with Denise Brown, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine.

“Ukraine is Finland’s biggest partner in development cooperation. We support reforms in Ukrainian education and environmental sector and developments in the rule of law on the country’s path towards the European Union,” Minister Tavio says.

Inquiries

  • Sirpa Oksanen, Director, Unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, tel. +358 295 350 472
  • Tuomas Tähti, Special Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Development policy, tel. +358 295 350 199
  • The email addresses of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are in the format firstname.lastname@gov.fi.