Humanitarian demining is one of the key priorities for Ukraine's rapid recovery, as it is about people's safety, restoring the full operation of agricultural enterprises, and establishing food supply chains, in particular, as it is a matter of global food security, of which Ukraine is a guarantor. To intensify all the necessary processes for the rapid and high-quality survey and clearance of land, the Government is working on a comprehensive Strategy for Demining with the expertise and experience of international partners such as Croatia.

This was discussed during a meeting between Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Economy of Ukraine, and a Croatian delegation headed by Gordan Grlić-Radman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia.

"We are actively working with our international partners to launch a humanitarian demining market in Ukraine, purchase special equipment, train deminers, certify private demining operators and organize our own production. Currently, Ukraine has 174 thousand square kilometers of potentially contaminated land, and we have only 3,000 deminers and 26 demining vehicles. We are looking for solutions on how to properly develop the humanitarian demining process and return to the productive use of the territories. Croatia's experience in this matter is very valuable for us," emphasized Yuliia Svyrydenko.

In his turn, Minister Gordan Grlić-Radman noted that the Government of Croatia aims to support Ukraine in its efforts to clear the land as soon as possible to strengthen the economic and social sectors. In particular, this includes support for the project to localize the production of demining equipment in Ukraine by such Croatian companies as DOK-ING and Duro Dakovic Group Plc.
He noted that DOK-ING Company plans to open an office in Ukraine. A series of expert meetings with demining specialists will also be held to assist in the development of the Demining Strategy.

In addition, the International Donor Conference for Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine will be held in Zagreb, Croatia, on 11 and 12 October. The conference will serve as a platform to mobilize additional international support and resources for demining initiatives in Ukraine.

Also during the meeting, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić-Radman and World Food Program (WFP) Country Director for Ukraine Matthew Hollingworth signed a Memorandum on the survey of agricultural land in Ukraine, its clearance of explosives and the safe resumption of agricultural production. The program also helps farmers restore soil and produce after the land is liberated.

The Croatian government has donated €1 million to WFP (UN) to help Ukrainian farmers resume work in the regions most affected by the explosive remnants of war. This is the largest donation by Croatia to WFP (UN).

"We are sincerely excited about this initiative. Farmers from Kharkiv, Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts will be the first to join the program. I hope that in a year, we will be able to expand the program and at the same time we, as the Government, are working to strengthen the capacity of our state institutions, the State Emergency Service, and the institutions of the Ministry of Defense. By the end of the year, we plan to double the number of deminers and vehicles, and continue demining the liberated territories, agricultural land and forests," emphasized Yuliia Svyrydenko.

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian organization that saves lives in emergencies and uses food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, natural disasters and the effects of climate change.

WFP works in Ukraine to provide food and cash assistance to war-affected Ukrainians and works closely with farmers, bakeries and other producers to restore or maintain food production and food systems.