Prime Minister Shmyhal meets with Austrian Foreign Minister to discuss economy and EU integration

As Ukrinform reports, the Prime Minister of Ukraine wrote about this on Telegram.

“A meaningful meeting with the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria. We highly appreciate Austria's ongoing support for Ukraine, both from the government and from the parliament, in various areas,” Shmyhal noted.

He recalled that “during her visit to Kyiv, Meinl-Reisinger announced that Austria would allocate 5 million euros for demining and 2 million euros within the framework of the ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative.”

Shmyhal expressed gratitude to Austria for supporting sanctions against Russia.

“We expect that the pressure of sanctions on the aggressor will increase,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

“We are especially grateful for the support of our aspirations for European integration. Today we discussed this direction in detail, as well as our further steps on the path to European integration. Thank you, Austria, for your readiness to provide assistance,” Shmyhal added.

Shmyhal and Meinl-Reisinger also “discussed issues of economic cooperation.”

According to the head of the Ukrainian government, “Austria is one of the leading investors in Ukraine.”

“We are looking forward to the visit of a delegation of Austrian businessmen to Kyiv to coordinate our future cooperation. According to the minister, many Austrian companies are interested in partnership and investment in Ukraine. I also invited them to participate in reconstruction projects,” Shmyhal said.

Read also: Austrian Foreign Minister reaffirms continued support for Ukraine

In this context, Shmyhal mentioned the idea of “creating the position of a special representative for Ukraine to improve the coordination of our interaction in this area.”

In addition, during the meeting, Shmyhal “stressed the importance of confiscating frozen Russian assets, as this will become an important resource for the restoration of our country.”

“I have received assurances from Meinl-Reisinger that Austria will continue to support Ukraine. Thank you for being with the Ukrainian people in these difficult times of full-scale Russian aggression,” the Prime Minister concluded.

As reported by Ukrinform, the new Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger arrived in Ukraine on Friday, March 14.

Photo: Denis Shmygal / Telegram