Estonia and Ukraine hold consultations on development cooperation and humanitarian aid

The Director General of the External Economic and Development Cooperation Department Jüri Seilenthal affirmed at the political consultations on development cooperation and humanitarian aid, held between the foreign ministries of Estonia and Ukraine in Kyiv, that Ukraine continues to be one of the priority countries of the Estonian development cooperation.

“Estonia continues to support the democratic development of Ukraine on political level and through development cooperation. At the moment it is very important that Ukraine continues with reforms,” Seilenthal said at the meeting in the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine. According to Seilenthal, Estonia can contribute to the development of Ukraine by sharing its experiences, especially in the ICT field. “Implementing e-governance and e-solutions in public administration will certainly contribute to stronger democratic structure of the state and will increase transparency,” he emphasised.  

Seilenthal also stressed the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine. “Unfortunately, the humanitarian situation has not improved and therefore, Estonia will continue to support the international humanitarian organisations working on both sides of the line of contact,” he said.

In 2017, the Foreign Ministry is planning to support Ukraine with €2.2 million, corresponding to almost 20% of the whole budget for development cooperation and humanitarian aid. The Foreign Ministry will also support the activities of the Estonian Center of Eastern Partnership in all Partnership countries, including in Ukraine.

Consultations on development cooperation and humanitarian aid between Estonia and Ukraine were held from 18 - 21 April. Consultations aimed to reinforce good relations with local partners, to help coordinate aid and to create new opportunities for further cooperation. The Estonian development cooperation and humanitarian aid projects were introduced at the Estonian Embassy in Kyiv on 19 April.


*The Estonian delegation also met with the EU delegation in Kyiv, ECHO Ukraine, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SIDA, the Department of Economic Cooperation and the Directorate General for the European Union of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM) Ukraine, and the local humanitarian NGO Vostok SOS. In addition, consultations were held with the US embassy and the US agency for international development USAID, the representatives of the EU support programme U-LEAD, heads of the State Agency for e-Governance in Ukraine and representatives of the international organisations UNHCR, UNFPA, UNICEF and UN OCHA.

Additional information:

Sandra Kamilova
Communication Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
56675362
[email protected]
www.vm.ee