Coordination, financing, localization: Ministry of Economy and GICHD discussed priorities
February 6, 2026
First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Oleksii Sobolev and his team defined priority areas for expanding cooperation with the Director of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), Ambassador Tobias Privitelli.
The meeting took place on February 5 in Kyiv. The parties discussed further steps to reform the humanitarian demining system in Ukraine, strengthen coordination between state institutions, and develop innovative financial tools to ensure sustainable support for mine action.
The Ukrainian side informed about the preparation of decisions aimed at strengthening the role of the Centre for Humanitarian Demining as a key coordinating institution in the field of humanitarian demining.
"It is fundamentally important for us this year to finalize managerial decisions to strengthen the coordination of humanitarian demining. And the Centre for Humanitarian Demining is the key institution in this process. Currently, we are working to ensure that its mandate is as clear, understandable, and effective as possible," noted Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine Oleksii Sobolev.
According to him, the corresponding changes are planned to be implemented within the framework of current legislation, followed by an evaluation of the results and possible legislative adjustments.
The parties paid special attention to the issue of long-term financing of humanitarian demining. The meeting participants noted that in the future, the classic model of donor grants will not be able to fully cover the needs of the sector, which is why Ukraine, together with international partners, is working on launching alternative financial mechanisms.
"We proceed from the premise that classical donor funding will gradually decrease over time, so we must already prepare financial instruments that will allow attracting private capital. Ukraine is ready to be a pilot platform for such mechanisms in the field of humanitarian demining," emphasized Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine Ihor Bezkaravainyi.
They also discussed the developments of international financial experts supported by the governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the European Union regarding the creation of innovative financing models utilizing private capital.
GICHD Director, Ambassador Tobias Privitelli highlighted Ukraine's potential as a pilot country for new financial solutions in humanitarian demining. "Ukraine has a unique scale of challenges and simultaneously experience working with innovative financial mechanisms. We have engaged experts to develop several models of financial mechanisms for mine action and plan to present them later this year. And Ukraine is one of the most promising countries for piloting new global instruments," he noted.
Privitelli also emphasized the importance of centralizing management approaches. "Centralizing approaches to planning, prioritization, and data management is critically important. We recommended precisely this approach in our analytical findings and welcome Ukraine's intentions to move in this direction," added the GICHD Director.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the development of local capacity in the field of humanitarian demining, in particular supporting Ukrainian organizations and equipment manufacturers. The participants agreed to continue cooperation on practical localization support programs, combining state tools and international assistance.
