Statement delivered by Permanent Representive of Ukraine to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya at the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Annual Session 2022 on Ukraine-UNDP cooperation on 8 June 2022.

Madam President,

Dear Members of the Board,

Distinguished colleagues,

Ongoing russia's aggression has a devastating impact on Ukraine's economy, which has shrunk by almost half in such a short time, including small and medium-sized businesses. It dramatically undermines national progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

Economy, food, environment, migration – the invasion-related crisis has affected almost all areas of our lives. The quality of our answers directly depends on only one thing – our unity. We have got used to talking at the UN about the post-conflict reconstruction.

However, Ukraine needs the UN assistance now, during the war, to support the economy, small businesses, and internally displaced persons. It is necessary to quickly rebuild the destroyed infrastructure and gradually intensify economic processes. It is our main priority.

In this regard, Ukraine highly appreciates the efforts of the United Nations, the international community, and all the donors that, considering the challenging work environment, continue to support the country in the humanitarian and economic domains. I would like to note the significant intensification of the activities of the UNDP Office in Ukraine in recent times.

We appreciate the active participation of the UNDP in assisting Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as providing logistical and legal assistance in relocating companies from central and eastern Ukraine to western Ukraine.

We are also grateful for the assistance in cybersecurity and digital development, in particular in the development and maintenance of the application for demining of the territory of Ukraine (Mine Action App). Demining is one of our key priorities. We welcome the UNDP programming prioritization, which focuses on recovery assistance for affected territories and IDPs.

Therefore, we applaud the launch of the UNDP’s Resilience Building and Recovery programme launched as a response to the Russian war against Ukraine.

We appreciate the strong coordination of the UNDP with the Government of Ukraine in preparing this program, look forward to its effective implementation and count on an integrated approach.

 Regarding the global vision of UNDP priorities, we believe that in the future, the UNDP should continue to pay significant attention to such areas of its activities as: - implementation of modern digital technologies; - supporting countries in ensuring their energy security and widespread implementation of sustainable renewable energy; - creating conditions for comprehensive support for internally displaced persons.

Thank you.