United to win: Croatia donates €1 mln to Ukraine for clearing landmines
On Monday, July 31, the Croatian government allocated €1 million to the UN World Food Program (WFP) to help Ukraine demine agricultural land.
The UN WFP reported this on its website.
What is the problem?
As of May 30, about 30% of Ukraine's territory was contaminated with explosives. This is 174 thousand square kilometers.
What is the solution?
The agreement on the provision of assistance was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia, Gordan Grlić Radman, and the Director of the UN WFP in Ukraine, Matthew Hollingworth, in the presence of Yulia Svyrydenko [First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economic Development and Trade – ed.].
How does it work?
It is noted that the contribution of €1 million is the largest in the history of Croatia's donation to the World Food Program.
"We highly appreciate the support of partners who provide donor and international technical assistance for demining projects in Ukraine, in particular, Croatia, which has significant experience in demining," – emphasized the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko.
The funds will be used to support a joint project led by the UN WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations together with the Swiss Fund for Demining, the organization said.
According to the statement, the project aims to survey Ukrainian agricultural lands for the presence of mines and other explosive objects, demining them, and safely resuming food production in rural communities.
The UN WFP added that demining work is already underway in the Kharkiv region and reported plans to expand the program to the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.
For reference:
International partners will provide Ukraine with $244 million for demining.
As reported today, July 31, Croatia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gordan Grlić Radman, arrived in Ukraine on a working visit.
Rubryka also wrote that Ukraine and Croatia agreed on using Croatian ports to export Ukrainian grain.
