The Ukrainian government delegation, as part of studying the mine clearance experience, noted the need to borrow experience from the Kingdom of Cambodia in resuming economic activity in cleared areas, the press service of the Ministry of Economy reported.

The Ministry of Economy said that before the Russian Federation's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Cambodia was considered the most mined country in the world.

"Mine clearance should not end only with clearing the territory and destroying explosive objects. In Cambodia, with the support of international partners, a holistic approach has been introduced, including both direct mine clearance and assistance to communities and directly to people starting to work on cleared land. It's about training, infrastructure restoration and etc. This allows not only clearing the territory but returning people there and giving impetus to the territory development. And it's the experience that Ukraine should implement," said Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Ihor Bezkaravainy.

The Ministry of Economy said that Ukraine leads in terms of the level of technology involved in the process of humanitarian demining, but can borrow from Cambodia the experience of disposing of explosive ordnance. In the country, a significant part of the detected explosive substances are not blown up, but are disposed of, thereby confiscating explosives that are in short supply in the region. Thanks to recycling, Ukraine will be able, first of all, to reduce the number of explosions, which will have a beneficial effect on the environment.

Bezkaravainy stressed that Cambodia is a reminder of how long explosive hazards can affect people's lives. In 2022, almost 30 years after peace had come to the country, 10 people were killed by mine explosions.

"This only confirms our intentions to accelerate the pace of humanitarian demining in Ukraine, so that in the future fewer people will suffer from explosive ordnance. After all, this is one of the key goals of the Mine Action Strategy developed by the Ministry of Economy in cooperation with other stakeholders," the deputy minister said.

The Ukrainian delegation, which included representatives of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Emergency Service, got acquainted with the work of the relevant departments involved in mine clearance. Meetings were also held at the level of deputy ministers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia. Members of the delegation studied the progress of mine clearance work in the country.