Prime Minister Petr Fiala addressed the Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine in Lugano and met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal

On Monday, 4 July 2022, Prime Minister Petr Fiala addressed the Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine in Lugano, Switzerland. He then met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. They discussed the post-war reconstruction of the country and the involvement of the Czech Republic. He subsequently held talks with the President of Switzerland and the Prime Minister of Lithuania.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala delivered a speech at the Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine, held in Lugano, Switzerland. Leaders of countries and international organisations are discussing how to help in rebuilding Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke at the conference via video-conference.

"Let us admit that a substantial part of Ukraine's reconstruction will be on the shoulders of European states and the EU as such. We must involve the whole civilised world in the future reconstruction of Ukraine. We have no easy task ahead of us. But we will not let Ukraine down and Europe will emerge from this crisis stronger, safer and more resilient," the Czech Prime Minister said in his speech. Full text of the speech.

At the beginning of the conference, Petr Fiala discussed with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. The meeting was a follow-up to the Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine, which the two politicians attended earlier. The prime ministers discussed the Czech Republic's involvement in the reconstruction of the country after the end of the war with Russia.

"I assured the Prime Minister that one of the priorities of the Czech Presidency is the reconstruction of his country, which is being devastated by Russian aggression. We talked about specific areas where the Czech Republic could be involved in the post-war reconstruction of the country, be it in the area of rail transport, health care or nuclear energy. For a massive reconstruction of Ukraine, however, we will need the war to end so that we can rebuild in peaceful conditions," Petr Fiala said.

The Czech Prime Minister then held talks with the President of the Swiss Confederation, Ignazio Cassis. They discussed, for example, Ukraine, relations between the European Union and Switzerland and Czech-Swiss cooperation, especially in the field of research. Finally, Petr Fiala met with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė. They discussed, for example, bilateral cooperation between the two countries and the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU.