Shmyhal, Austrian FM discuss aid to Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, economic cooperation between two countries
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal met with Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger during her visit to Kyiv on Friday, during which, in particular, they discussed Austria's aid to Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, and economic cooperation between the two countries.
"We highly appreciate the unwavering support of Ukraine from the Austrian Government and people in all areas. During her visit to Kyiv, Ms. Meinl-Reisinger announced that Austria will allocate EUR 5 million to Ukraine for demining and EUR 2 million within the Grain from Ukraine initiative," Shmyhal added on Telegram.
The head of government stressed that further sanctions against the Russian Federation and the use of frozen Russian assets were discussed.
"I am also grateful for supporting the sanctions against Russia. We expect that the sanctions pressure on the aggressor will continue... I emphasized the importance of confiscating frozen Russian assets. This will become a significant resource for the reconstruction of our country," Shmyhal noted.
The parties also discussed economic cooperation and the visit of an Austrian business delegation to Kyiv.
"We touched on the topics of economic cooperation. Austria is one of the largest investors in Ukraine. We are looking forward to the visit of the Austrian business delegation to Kyiv to coordinate our cooperation for the future. According to the Minister, many Austrian companies are interested in partnership and investment in Ukraine. I also invited them to join reconstruction projects," the Prime Minister added.
He noted that in this context, the issue of creating a special representative for Ukraine was raised in order to better coordinate our cooperation in this area.
Shmyhal thanked the Austrian side for supporting Ukraine's European integration aspirations.
"We are especially grateful for supporting our European aspirations. Today we discussed this direction and our further steps on the European integration path in detail. I thank Austria for its readiness to help," he noted.
The Prime Minister also thanked Meinl-Reisinger for supporting Ukraine during the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation.
"I received assurances from Beate Meinl-Reisinger that Austria will continue to support Ukraine. Thank you for standing shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people in difficult times of full-scale Russian aggression," Shmyhal concluded.
As reported, Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger arrived in Kyiv on Friday. Immediately after her arrival, she and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha laid flowers at the wall of memory of the fallen Ukrainian soldiers.