The Agreement provides the legal framework for the implementation of development cooperation programs and reconstruction projects by Latvia in Ukraine; it will also facilitate the provision of technical and financial assistance to Ukraine. The Agreement envisages various advantages for the implementers of reconstruction projects, for instance, goods and services imported under the technical and financial assistance projects will be exempt from taxes, licences for temporary import of goods will be issued, and experts will be granted facilitations during their stay in Ukraine.
In accordance with the Agreement, all reconstruction projects implemented by Latvia will be registered with the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
The Agreement was approved by the Latvian Government on 28 November 2023 and signed during the visit of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Latvia on 11 January 2024, by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Ukraine.
Latvia has been involved in the reconstruction of Ukraine since 2022 and has been restoring social infrastructure and housing and providing psychological support to war-affected women. Latvia also intends to engage in rebuilding of Ukraine in the coming years.
In 2024, EUR 5.4 million will be allocated from State budget towards the reconstruction of Ukraine, and as recently reported by LSM, a new long-term cooperation agreement has already been approved. On April 11 it was confirmed that it had been signed in Vilnius during a meeting between Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the Three Seas Summit.
"During the meeting, E. Rinkēvičs and V. Zelenskyy discussed various issues, including the security situation in Ukraine, preparations for the NATO Summit in Washington, the launch of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU, Latvia's involvement in the Ukraine Peace Initiative, as well as issues related to EU sanctions policy," said an account of the meeting from the Latvian President's office.
