On the 4th and 5th of July 2022, Switzerland hosted the international Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2022) in Lugano. Previously called Ukraine Reform Conference, the event took place in London (2017), Copenhagen (2018), Toronto (2019), and Vilnius (2021). It is an annual conference aimed at reporting the reform developments that took place in Ukraine, displaying the progress that has been achieved to international partners and strategising the following steps for the governmental institutions, NGOs, private businesses, knowledge institutes, civil society, media. The original theme of the conference, Stability and Prosperity, has been changed due to the start of full-scale Russian war against Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
The Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands, Mrs Liesje Schreinemacher, attended the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano. She expressed solidarity on behalf of the Netherlands and contributed to the discussions of Recovery and Development Plan of Ukraine; methods, priorities and principles of the recovery process; social, economic, environmental and infrastructure recovery from the military conflict, and others. In her speech, Mrs. Liesje Schreinemacher announced that the Government of the Netherlands has made EUR 200 million, on top of the previous EUR 140 million, available to help cover the day-to-day costs of the Ukrainian Government. Furthermore, the Minister reiterated that while active reconstruction of infrastructure is not possible in Ukraine due to regular shelling and foreign occupation, the international community must be prepared to act rapidly as soon as peace has been established.