Prague, May 22 (CTK) – The Czech Republic will donate 16 million crowns to educational programmes within the reconstruction of Ukraine, the government decided yesterday.
It only agreed with a half of the sum proposed by Foreign Affairs Minister Lubomir Zaoralek (Social Democrats, CSSD) who originally demanded 35 million for Ukraine for two years.
The cabinet decided on support for Ukraine in March 2014.
In the past few years, it earmarked 50 million crowns for this purpose. Further finances were sent to Ukraine from other sources of the Foreign Ministry.
“These are additional means, further 16 million crowns that we are to spend on the programmes that the Czech Republic is implementing in Ukraine. This is support for education, for students,” Zaoralek said after the government’s meeting.
The projects in 2014-2016 cost some 171 million crowns. They focused on the establishment of and support for independent media, a reform of the Ukrainian media environment and the anti-corruption fight.
The projects also concerned university education, support for the U.N. Development Programme and possibly special scholarships for Ukrainians to study at public universities and colleges in the Czech Republic.
Besides, the Czech Republic supported Ukrainians afflicted by armed conflicts and the internally displaced persons in Ukraine in 2014 and 2015, providing healthcare material for them.
The aid also included humanitarian transports of Ukrainians to be treated in the Czech Republic within the MEDEVAC programme, the Foreign Ministry said.
($1=23.710 crowns)
