Lithuania donates €1 mln to Ukraine via Council of Europe Development Bank Fund

Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste and the Chairman of the Development Bank of the Council of Europe Carlo Monticelli signed an agreement on Monday in Vilnius, according to which Lithuania will send 1 million euros to the Ukrainian Solidarity Fund of the CoE for the recovery of the country.

LRT reported this.

The goal of the Ukrainian Solidarity Fund of the Development Bank of the Council of Europe is to support forced migrants and to promote the reconstruction of Ukraine. The funds will be directed to meeting various social needs that arose due to the war, such as ensuring the well-being and integration of displaced people and restoring the social infrastructure of the most critical areas of the country.

According to Skaiste, the fund's primary focus will be on Ukraine's social and medical infrastructure and the reconstruction of residential buildings.

"We consider this own contribution as part of a broader strategy. Lithuania allocated more than 1.9% of its GDP to support Ukraine through various financial and direct support instruments. This is one of the highest overall indicators among all countries providing aid [to Ukraine – ed.]," said Skaiste after signing the contract.

"During this period, it is necessary to help Ukrainians not only on the military front but also in the social sphere, where there are many problems," added the Lithuanian finance minister.

Skaiste and Monticelli also discussed the Development Bank of the Council of Europe's investments in Lithuania and the bank's role in supporting Ukraine.

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It should be noted that the Development Bank of the Council of Europe is considering the possibility of joining the preferential mortgage lending program in Ukraine.

It is worth noting that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Lithuania's financial assistance to Ukraine amounted to more than 1 billion euros.

As reported by Rubryka, on November 24, the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Ingrida Šimonytė, arrived on a working visit to Kyiv.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal met with Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė. The parties discussed strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities, particularly the air defense. The Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to which Lithuania expressed its full support, was also discussed.

In addition, as part of the Grain From Ukraine initiative, Lithuania will allocate 2 million euros by the end of the year and is ready to increase the transit capacity of Baltic ports for Ukrainian exports.