Ukraine and Estonia Boost Strategic Partnership for Social Transformation

Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine, Denys Uliutin, held a meeting with the Minister of Social Affairs of the Republic of Estonia, Karmen Joller, who visited Ukraine on an official visit. During the meeting, both sides discussed current issues of bilateral cooperation in the field of social policy and outlined further steps to deepen the partnership.

“We highly value Estonia's systematic support, especially in the context of restoring the Zhytomyr region, where many important social projects have already been implemented, including the construction of homes for foster families. Thanks to such initiatives, we are not only restoring infrastructure but also strengthening our child protection system, ensuring that children have the opportunity to grow up in a family environment,” said Denys Uliutin.

He emphasized that Estonia and Ukraine share a common vision of an inclusive society, where the social sector must be stable, and budgetary support must be effective, targeted, and sustainable.

“We are grateful for our partners’ expertise and count on continued cooperation as we transition toward a more modern model of social policy,” the Minister added.

During the meeting, the parties discussed Estonia’s support for key areas of Ukraine’s social sector transformation, including the introduction of new quality standards for social services. Particular attention was given to the gradual transition from institutional care to family-based models, the development of inclusive education, and the expansion of social services for children with disabilities.

The Ukrainian side outlined its plans to modernize the pension system through the phased implementation of a three-pillar structure, drawing on global experience, and emphasized the need to ensure the sustainability and fairness of payments. The Estonian side, in turn, presented its experience in pension reform and the standardization of social services.

“We actually hope that the war will end and we can help to build Zhytomyr and share our experience. But right now we also have a lot to learn from you. Because it is not like we are very successful and have done it all right – we have not. It is always good to learn from others mistakes and we don’t keep them in secret. We also have learned how to prepare from crisis, whatever crisis it will be we know that they will be anyway, – we had COVID and we all have this war crisis. So we actually need to be prepared anyway” said Karmen Joller.

She added: “For Estonia, supporting Ukraine is essential because we find ourselves to be very similar, in the way you think we think quite a lot. We have a lot of same thoughts and same values”

Ukraine and Estonia are bound by a longstanding partnership in the social sphere, including an active Agreement on Social Security between the two countries. This agreement regulates issues of pension insurance, accident and unemployment insurance, as well as family and child benefits. In 2025, both sides agreed to amend the agreement due to changes in legislation, and final approvals are currently underway.

As a result of the meeting, the parties agreed to establish a joint working group to update the Agreement on Social Security between Ukraine and Estonia. The Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine highly values Estonia’s consistent support and looks forward to further strengthening the strategic partnership in the context of post-war recovery and social transformation.

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