The government will continue to support a humanitarian group in the Czech Republic that provides services to Ukrainian refugees, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the group in Prague on Tuesday said.
The MOU paves the way for a new round of cooperation between Taiwan and the Czech group — People in Need — in a joint effort to assist Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic, the ministry said on Wednesday.
Through the joint project, the Czech group would provide shelter for young Ukrainians fleeing the ongoing war at home and offer counseling services to refugees in the Czech Republic, ministry said.
Photo: Huang Chin-hsuen, Taipei Times
With a budget of US$283,252, the project, which is to run until the end of this year, is expected to help 4,825 displaced Ukrainians, the ministry told the Central News Agency, without specifying if the government would be the source of the funding.
Taiwan in 2022 donated US$1 million to People in Need to support its programs aiding the education and integration of displaced Ukrainian children in Czech schools, along with other assistance.
The US$1 million in funding was part of the US$32 million that the ministry raised from private citizens in Taiwan shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The MOU was signed between Representative to the Czech Republic Ke Liang-ruey (柯良叡) and People in Need executive director Simon Panek.
The deal was lauded by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中), who took part in the signing ceremony remotely from Taipei, as another “milestone” for Taiwan-Czechia collaborations in their help for Ukraine, the ministry said in a news release.
Panek was cited in the release as expressing gratitude for Taiwan’s aid to Ukraine, citing how countless Ukrainian refugees had benefited from Taiwan’s support.
The ministry in its release also reaffirmed Taiwan’s commitment to supporting Ukraine as the war continues and to keep working with the Czech Republic to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian refugees.
Czech Commissioner for Human Rights Klara Simackova Laurencikova also took part in the signing ceremony in Prague, the release said.
Founded in 1992, People in Need has grown to become the largest humanitarian organization in the Czech Republic and one of the most important non-governmental organizations in central and eastern Europe, the ministry said.
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