Switzerland supporting Ukraine in digitalisation and e-governance
Bern, 07.06.2024 - At its meeting on 7 June, the Federal Council decided to continue supporting Ukraine in the areas of digitalisation and e-governance, approving CHF 58.7 million for this purpose over the next four years. Switzerland is thus promoting democratic reforms in Ukraine through digitalisation and at the same time increasing the transparency of state-provided services. Both areas are of crucial importance for Ukraine to rebuild.
Since Russia's aggression against Ukraine began, the security situation in the country has deteriorated significantly. Millions of Ukrainians have been forcibly displaced, and in order to ensure that they too continue to have access to state-provided services, those services must be made available digitally. This poses a major challenge for the Ukrainian administration. Thanks to support from Switzerland and other international partners, it has been possible to drive forward digitalisation within the public administration and meet the growing demand for digital services. An important component of this success is the Diia app, which is now used by over 20 million Ukrainians, for example to pay their taxes or renew their driving licence. This initiative was made possible by the E-Governance for Accountability and Participation (EGAP) project, which promotes the digital transformation of the Ukrainian administration and has been supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) since 2015.
In addition, EGAP increases transparency and reduces the Ukrainian administration's vulnerability to corruption. EGAP also includes e-democracy tools that enable the population to participate in political processes, thereby strengthening democratic reform processes.
Focus on regions affected by the war
As EGAP has been successful in digitalising services provided by the state and promoting transparency in the Ukrainian administration, the Federal Council has decided that Switzerland will continue to support the project. The SDC will provide a total of CHF 58.7 million over the 2024–28 period. The funding will come from the regular international cooperation budget, and will focus in particular on projects in regions directly affected by the war and that are important for the nation's future recovery. Some of the key focus areas will include healthcare, education and humanitarian demining.
Switzerland will announce its support in the areas of digitalisation and e-governance at the next Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC), which will take place on 11 and 12 June 2024 in Berlin. The aim of the conference is to mobilise further international support for Ukraine's reconstruction. The two previous conferences were held in Lugano in 2022 and London in 2023.
Address for enquiries
For further information:
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The Federal Council
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