Shmyhal and the head of the Austrian Foreign Ministry discussed aid to Ukraine, sanctions against Russia and economic cooperation between the two countries

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger during her visit to Kyiv on Friday, where they discussed, among other things, Austria's aid to Ukraine, sanctions against Russia and the economic partnership between the two countries.

“We highly appreciate the continuous support of the Austrian government and people to Ukraine in all areas. During her visit to Kyiv, Ms. Meinl-Reisinger announced that Austria will allocate 5 million euros to Ukraine for mine clearance and 2 million euros under the Grain from Ukraine initiative,” Shmyhal added on Telegram.

The head of government noted that the prospects of introducing additional sanctions against the Russian Federation and the use of frozen Russian assets were also discussed.

“I am also grateful for the support of sanctions against Russia. We hope that the pressure on the aggressor will continue… I emphasized the importance of confiscating frozen Russian assets. This will be a significant resource for the restoration of our country,” Shmyhal noted.

The parties also discussed issues of economic cooperation and the upcoming visit of the Austrian business delegation to Kyiv.

“We discussed economic cooperation. Austria is one of the leading investors in Ukraine. We are looking forward to the visit of the Austrian business delegation to Kyiv to coordinate our cooperation in the future. According to the minister, many Austrian companies are interested in partnership and investment in Ukraine. I also invited them to take part in reconstruction projects,” the prime minister added.

He indicated that in this context the issue of creating the position of a special representative for Ukraine was raised to improve the coordination of our cooperation in this area.

Shmyhal expressed gratitude to the Austrian side for supporting Ukraine’s European integration aspirations.

“We are particularly grateful for the support of our European aspirations. Today we discussed this area and our further steps towards European integration in detail. I thank Austria for its readiness to provide assistance,” he noted.

The Prime Minister also expressed gratitude to Meinl-Reisinger for supporting Ukraine in the face of full-scale aggression by the Russian Federation.

“I received assurances from Beate Meinl-Reisinger that Austria will continue to support Ukraine. Thank you for being 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 memorial wall for fallen Ukrainian soldiers.