Ukrainian border guards patrol on the closed check point of Slavutych on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border in the Chernihiv region on July 14, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)
Stockholm: Sweden's government on Monday announced it was pledging six billion kronor ($586 million) in aid to rebuild Ukraine and facilitate reforms to pave the way for EU membership.
International Development Cooperation Minister Johan Forsell said the funds, which would be distributed between 2023 and 2027, were part of a newly developed aid strategy specifically developed for Ukraine.
"This is the largest and most ambitious bilateral strategy that Sweden has developed, ever," Forsell told a press conference.
Forsell also stressed that the funds made up a "base plate" for Swedish aid to Ukraine.
"Additional specifically directed investments will come on top of this," the minister said.
Forsell said the strategy would not only seek to rebuild the country, but also institute reforms that would pave the way for it eventually joining the European Union.
"In the long term we want to see not just one, but two blue and yellow flags in Kyiv. The Ukrainian and the European," Forsell said.
Funds would be targeted to among other things help build up Ukrainian infrastructure and institutions such as healthcare.
They would also be used to increase Ukraine's access to fossil free energy and transition to greener technologies.
Work would also be put into enabling more free trade and freedom for entrepreneurs in the Ukrainian economy as well as working for increased transparency and combatting corruption.
Security and strengthening human rights protections were also listed as priorities.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Sweden had already pledged 4.7 billion kronor in civilian and humanitarian aid, in addition to some 17 billion kronor in military aid.
