TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Cooperation between the Taiwan and Czech Republic will provide hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians with humanitarian aid within months, a Czech envoy said in Taipei on Monday (March 18).
Tomas Kopecny, the Czech Governmental Envoy for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, spoke following meetings in Taipei, where he also met Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). Kopecny said that Taiwan-Czech humanitarian aid projects are expected to bear results within four months and that cooperation between the two sides is to be “long-term.”
Various agencies have reported hundreds of billions of dollars worth of damage to Ukrainian infrastructure from the Russia-Ukraine war. In 2023, Medicines Sans Frontières said attacks on Ukrainian hospitals had taken a “tragic toll,” while the World Health Organization reported more than 1,000 attacks on Ukrainian healthcare infrastructure last May.
Kopecny’s visit follows the November signing of a cooperation agreement between Taiwan and the Czech Republic to aid in the reconstruction of Ukraine’s healthcare, energy, and water infrastructure. Kopecny said the cooperation projects will provide drinking water for over 130,000 people, energy for about 100,000 people, and healthcare infrastructure in Ukraine’s east, close to the front line of fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces.
“We are delivering this assistance to regions in the east of the country that are most affected by the war, and that most of the other donors are not that active in,” he said. “Within just a few months we will be able to help hundreds of thousands of people in the east of Ukraine – only thanks to this unique partnership between Czechia and Taiwan.”
Kopecny said the Taiwan-Czech healthcare aid will focus on delivering primary care for Ukraine. He said this will include providing pediatric care, gynecological care, intensive care units, equipping and modernizing hospitals, and training.
Tomas Kopecny is pictured with Joseph Wu in Taipei on Monday. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs photo)
Kopecny said water and energy projects will be carried out close to the front line of fighting, thanks to the Czech Republic's “risk tolerance.” He said this means Taiwan-Czech aid can reach places others will not go for security reasons.
Healthcare projects in Ukraine that are jointly funded by the Czech Republic and Taiwan utilize Taiwanese equipment, Kopecny said. The foreign ministry told Taiwan News in a statement that a decision will be made in the future regarding whether or not Taiwanese medical personnel are sent to Ukraine.
Kopecny said aid provided by Taiwan-Czech cooperation is comparable with that of the world’s largest donors, which is enabled in part by cost efficiencies. “We of course do our planning, we do our feasibility studies, but we do not stop there… we go directly to the suppliers of the needed equipment and technologies,” he said.
Kopecny said there have been no discussions between his government and Taiwan regarding military aid cooperation, and declined to comment on if Beijing had reacted to the Taiwan-Czech cooperation.
Taiwan and the Czech Republic will discuss cooperation needs on a yearly basis, Kopecny said, though he did not say for how long this would continue. He said he believes long-term cooperation means Taiwan will become recognized as an “important actor in international assistance,” not just within Ukraine but in the global community also.
Ukraine’s government has long been dogged by corruption issues that have continued as it fights the Russian invasion. Kopecny acknowledged this issue and said that working directly with Ukrainian municipalities on aid projects would ensure aid reaches its intended target.
He also said that aid is provided according to what is requested by Ukraine, and material goods rather than financial resources are provided. Taiwan's foreign ministry declined the opportunity to respond to Taiwan News' queries about corruption prevention measures.
