Switzerland Appoints Representative for Ukraine

The Swiss government has appointed Jacques Gerber, 51, as its representative for Ukraine, who will coordinate financial and other assistance to Kyiv, as well as the reconstruction process.

This was reported by SRF.

Gerber is currently the Minister of Health and Economy of the French-speaking canton of Jura in northwestern Switzerland, and will take up his new position on 1 January 2025, completing nine years of work in the cantonal government of Jura.

Swiss Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis said that Gerber is the right person to fulfil the task of coordinating assistance to Ukraine.

The Representative for Ukraine will be responsible for managing all Swiss government assistance programmes currently implemented by the State Secretariats for Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs.

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Swiss side has provided almost €4 billion in aid to the Ukrainian population affected by the war, both in Ukraine and for refugees in Switzerland.

In April 2024, Switzerland announced that it plans to strengthen Ukraine's economic development and long-term reconstruction over the next twelve years and will allocate €5 billion for this purpose.

As The Gaze previously reported, Switzerland will abandon its neutrality for the first time in more than 500 years and will work closely with the EU and NATO.