Working group on humanitarian demining to develop mine action strategy - Ministry of Economy

The National Mine Action Authority approved the relevant decision at its meeting on June 16, Ukrinform reports, referring to the Ministry of Economy.

All state institutions related to the process of humanitarian demining are represented in the Interdepartmental Working Group on Humanitarian Demining. Therefore, it is logical that the development of the Strategy, as a key document that will determine the policy in humanitarian demining in the coming years, should take place within the framework of the Interdepartmental Working Group, the Ministry of Economy noted.

"A working group will be created as part of the Interdepartmental Working Group, which will develop the Strategy. Executive bodies were invited to submit candidacies to the group. We are planning to involve all interested persons so that to develop the most effective and practical document," said First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy, Head of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Humanitarian Demining Yulia Svyrydenko.

At the meeting, other important issues on demining were considered. The National Mine Action Authority supported the Ministry of Economy's proposal to develop an experimental government regulation to simplify the production, certification and procurement of special equipment for demining works conducted by the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other mine action operators. The proposal was already discussed at a meeting of the IWG on humanitarian demining.

Svyrydenko stressed that the key current task for Ukraine in the field of demining is to strengthen the capabilities of Ukrainian experts in this sector. Development and adoption of the decision by the government will speed up the process of providing units with the necessary equipment.

As reported, 174,000 square kilometers of the territory of Ukraine are potentially contaminated and require examination by technical and non-technical means and, if necessary, humanitarian demining. According to the World Bank, the full range of humanitarian demining works on the territory of Ukraine is estimated at $37.4 billion.