"The Dynamics of Vinnytsia Would Not Have Been Possible Without the Support of Switzerland and Zurich": Serhii Morhunov Met with Swiss Delegation

The meeting was focused on discussing general issues of the socio-economic situation during the war, the process of IDP integration into the community, opportunities and challenges for local government participation in the country's reconstruction, and the implementation of joint Swiss-Ukrainian projects.

Serhii Morhunov also presented strategic post-war recovery projects that would improve community development in various areas. Andrea Studer, Deputy Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Head of Cooperation with the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, noted that in order to attract potential investors, these projects will be presented in Switzerland.

"Speaking of projects, we need to look at where and in what areas we have already cooperated. We will pay special attention to those projects that we have implemented within the framework of decentralization, and we will be able to bring and show many of the specific projects that have been mentioned in Switzerland, because there are discussions about investment components, infrastructure projects, and perhaps private organizations will be interested in investing," said Andrea Studer.

Serhii Morhunov expressed confidence that Vinnytsia could join forces with Switzerland and share the experience of effective cooperation with other territorial communities for the sake of the region's even development.

"We do have a number of projects where we offer a concession or a municipal-private partnership. I also want to add that I know that the Swiss Embassy is working on a number of projects in Vinnytsia region. We could join forces here and share our practical experience with local communities. We are already working in many communities and helping them in terms of expertise, technical expertise, in terms of recommendations on how to move forward, and their employees are trained with us," said Serhii Morhunov.

Simon Geissbühler, Assistant State Secretary, Head of the Peace and Human Rights Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, noted that this is not his first visit to Vinnytsia.

"I was here for the first time 18 years ago, and over these two decades the city has developed a lot. And it is a great pleasure to see how dynamically the city is developing in the current conditions," said Simon Geissbühler.

The mayor emphasized that the positive dynamics of development would not have been possible without the support of foreign partners.

"Such dynamics would not have been possible without the support of Switzerland and Zurich in particular, for the projects we have already implemented since 2006. As well as the great help that Switzerland has provided since the beginning of the invasion," said Serhii Morhunov.

He added that the city's community is currently concentrating all its efforts to support our Armed Forces and Defense Forces and continues to do everything possible to ensure stable life.

Vinnytsia has been working closely with Switzerland since 2006. As part of the first phase of the Zurich Trams for Vinnytsia project, our city received 116 trams, and as part of the second phase, it is waiting for 35 Tram 2000 trams. In addition, several projects were implemented in the areas of energy efficiency, urban mobility, and e-democracy.

Also, since the beginning of the full-scale offensive of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine, Vinnytsia has received several humanitarian aid shipments from Switzerland with the support of the Swiss Embassy.