ALBAWABA – The government of Sweden on Monday announced a pledge of over $500 million in aid to rebuilding Ukraine and facilitating reform, to pave way for membership in the European Union (EU), Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Swedish Minister of International Development Cooperation Johan Forsell said these funds are part of a newly developed aid strategy specifically developed for Ukraine.
They are to be distributed between 2023 and 2027, according to AFP.
"This is the largest and most ambitious bilateral strategy that Sweden has developed, ever," Forsell told a press conference, noting that this is just the beginning.
"Additional specifically directed investments will come on top of this," the minister 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 EU, Forsell said.
"In the long term we want to see not just one, but two blue and yellow flags in Kyiv. The Ukrainian and the European," he said.
Sweden’s aid would be targeted to, among other things, help build up Ukrainian infrastructure and institutions such as healthcare. As well as to increase access to fossil-free energy and transition to greener technologies, as reported by AFP.
Efforts will also aim at enabling more free trade and freedom for entrepreneurs in the Ukrainian economy, increased transparency and combatting corruption.
Security and strengthening human rights protections were also listed as priorities, the news agency reaffirmed.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Sweden had already pledged $460 million in civilian and humanitarian aid, in addition to some $1.66 billion in military aid.
