Maksym Marchenko, Head of Odesa Regional Military Administration, held a meeting with Claude Wild, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Swiss Confederation to Ukraine. The parties discussed Swiss support for restoration of Ukraine, and in particular, Odesa Region.
Claude Wild noted that both the Swiss Government and business actively support Ukraine on the economic and social fronts, which is extremely important.
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Swiss Confederation to Ukraine highlights, “With your resilience and courage, you teach us all a lesson of resistance and strength in the fight for the independence of your country. You pay with your blood for European civilization. That’s why Switzerland is completely on the side of Ukraine”.
In turn, Maksym Marchenko thanked Claude Wild for help and support provided by Switzerland, as well as proposed to discuss several specific projects related to restoration of the objects in Odesa being damaged as a result of missile strikes.
Head of Odesa Regional Military Administration notes, “Due to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, Odesa Region has become a home for internally displaced persons from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and a large logistical and humanitarian hub for administrative management, humanitarian crisis response and resource base for Southern Ukraine, in particular for Mykolaiv and Kherson Regions. The region has retained its personnel expert potential and resource capacity for Odesa Region restoration and support to neighboring regions. We will also be grateful to you for further support of several important projects for their joint implementation”.
Key point of the conversation was the development of a plan for restoration, reconstruction and development of Odesa region in war and post-war conditions.
Maksym Marchenko adds, “Our goal, with your support, is to find and to develop effective solutions for the fastest possible restoration of the most important economic and social processes, by securing sustainable economic and social growth in the region. A separate component will be stimulation of private investments and entrepreneurship; support of small and medium-sized businesses; restoration and updating housing and social infrastructure, and most importantly, restoration of objects in Odesa Region being damaged due to Russia’s armed aggression”.
Separately, they also shared the plans to hold the World Exhibition Expo-2030 in Odesa, which can also become a crucial step in restoration of the country. In this context, Claude Wild emphasized that the Marshall Plan for restoration of Ukraine is already being discussed at the highest political level in many partner states; Odesa should be included in this plan and should become a kind of investment hub, while Expo-2030 in Odesa will speed up development of the region for the nearest decades.
The parties also agreed on further active cooperation and work intensification upon launching the proposed projects not only in economy, but also in digitalization and methodological projects, in particular, conducting internships and training courses for civil officers of the region by Swiss experts.