Swiss-Ukraine Reconstruction Agreement Takes Effect, Opening Procurement Route for Swiss Firms

A reconstruction agreement between Switzerland and Ukraine took effect on Friday, October 9, opening a route for Swiss public tenders to supply goods and services requested by Kyiv. The legal change allows Swiss companies without an existing Ukrainian presence to participate in work that earlier Swiss-backed private-sector programmes largely reserved for businesses already operating in the country.

The arrangement is designed to channel non-repayable Swiss financial assistance into Ukrainian reconstruction priorities, including damaged infrastructure and essential public services. It does not announce a new funding total or award contracts simply by coming into force. Instead, it changes the legal framework through which future orders can be identified, tendered and financed.

In its October 9 announcement, the Swiss government said both countries had completed ratification and that the Swiss Confederation would procure the goods and services identified by Ukraine through public tenders. The mechanism is intended to bring more Swiss suppliers into reconstruction efforts, particularly where specialist equipment and expertise are needed.

Kyiv identifies needs; Switzerland runs the tenders

The two governments have distinct roles under the agreement. Ukraine determines which goods and services are required for reconstruction, while the Swiss side arranges purchasing from Swiss businesses using its public procurement procedures. Ukraine’s government has also described a joint process for identifying specific projects and solutions to be financed. This leaves the needs assessment with the country receiving the assistance rather than treating reconstruction as a catalogue of products offered by suppliers.

Energy networks, transport and mobility, machinery, construction, water systems and emergency-response capacity are among the potential areas named by Switzerland when it approved the agreement in June 2025. These are fields in which Switzerland says its businesses have relevant capabilities and Ukraine has pressing requirements. They are not a list of purchase orders issued on October 9; actual contracts would have to follow the relevant project decisions and tender procedures.

Until now, access to Switzerland’s private-sector reconstruction support was linked to a local presence. In June 2025 the Federal Council said additional legal authority would be needed before Swiss businesses not established in Ukraine could supply reconstruction projects through this route. The agreement now provides that authority and applies to Swiss companies generally, whether or not they already maintain a Ukrainian branch.

Eligibility alone, though, does not secure an order. Swiss buyers must use public tenders, with contracts dependent on the terms of each procurement. The route is intended to source from Swiss companies, not to open those Swiss-funded purchases to suppliers worldwide. The October 9 announcement set out the mechanism without listing specific winning bidders, new contracts or a timetable for the first tenders.

The financing is described by both governments as non-repayable assistance rather than debt to be serviced by Ukraine. At the same time, the Ukrainian government has said that funding is subject to annual approval by the Swiss Parliament, with assistance amounts determined through Switzerland’s budget process. The legal ability to launch procurement therefore does not remove the need for project selection and funding decisions.

The new route is separate from existing Swiss projects

Swiss companies are already working on Ukrainian reconstruction under a different part of Switzerland’s support programme. On October 2, one week before the bilateral agreement entered into force, the Swiss Federal Council approved eight additional projects worth a combined CHF 135 million. Those projects cover energy, public transport and water, and were selected through a competitive process for Swiss businesses that already had branches in Ukraine.

For that earlier programme, Swiss authorities said proposals had to address Ukrainian needs and demonstrate technical feasibility, development impact and responsible use of funding. The projects considered had budgets ranging from CHF 3 million to CHF 30 million, and the companies chosen were required to finance at least 10% of their project costs. Ukrainian officials participated in the final selection. Those are conditions of the existing company-project programme, not terms that can automatically be assumed for every tender under the newly effective agreement.

The government of Ukraine reported in January that a first call for proposals in 2025 had already produced 12 supported projects with CHF 93 million in funding, covering areas such as housing and energy infrastructure, transport, healthcare and humanitarian demining. A second call followed in 2026, again aimed at Swiss companies operating in Ukraine. This history shows that bilateral rebuilding work was underway well before October 9; the new agreement expands the procurement options available alongside that work.

Those October 2 approvals should not be counted as contracts awarded through the agreement that took effect a week later. They belong to the earlier scheme for Swiss companies already present in Ukraine. Likewise, broader eligibility gives more suppliers a way to compete, not proof that new orders have been placed. The commercial impact will become clearer as tenders, expenditure approvals and purchasing decisions are made public.

A longer-term commitment, with funding decided in stages

The agreement sits within Switzerland’s larger Ukraine Country Programme. Bern has set out a CHF 5 billion commitment for Ukraine’s recovery, reforms and development across 2025 to 2036. For the first four-year phase, covering 2025 through 2028, CHF 1.5 billion is earmarked for assistance, including CHF 500 million intended to strengthen participation by the Swiss private sector. Those figures describe the broader Swiss programme; they should not be read as fresh money released on the day this bilateral agreement took effect.

Swiss support extends well beyond purchases from Swiss companies. It also funds public services, economic recovery and protection for civilians. The government’s private-sector measures aim to bring products and technical expertise into rebuilding work while encouraging businesses to invest, alongside humanitarian aid and other forms of international cooperation.

The legal path to October 9 took more than a year. Switzerland and Ukraine signed the agreement in Rome on July 10, 2025, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference. Ukraine’s parliament passed its ratification law in March 2026; a Ukrainian government statement said the pact would support procurement of Swiss goods and services and remain in force through the end of 2036.

In Switzerland, the Federal Council advanced the agreement to Parliament after considering consultation responses in March 2026. Both chambers approved it during the summer session. The deadline for requesting a referendum expired on October 8 without one being requested, clearing the way for the October 9 entry into force after both countries completed their procedures.

Contract notices and their terms will determine what this new route means for prospective suppliers. Ukrainian authorities will first need to identify suitable reconstruction needs, and Bern will have to arrange the purchases. For now, the agreement makes procurement possible without establishing a confirmed order book or naming recipients.