Ukraine, Italy to develop cooperation in field of production, technology – President's Office

KYIV. Jan 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has presented Minister of Enterprises and Production of Italy Adolfo Urso with the Order of Merit, III degree, according to the official website of the President of Ukraine on Thursday.

The Italian delegation headed by Adolfo Ursu arrived in Kyiv.

The head of state noted the role of the minister in supporting our country during difficult trials in connection with the full-scale aggression by Russia and the strengthening of Ukrainian-Italian relations.

Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak also met with the Italian delegation. The meeting was also attended by Ambassador of Italy to Ukraine Pier Francesco Zazo, Diplomatic Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic Francesco Maria Talò, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister of Enterprises and Production of Italy Mario Cospito, First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko, Head of the State Property Fund Rustem Umerov and Deputy Heads of the President’s Office Ihor Zhovkva, Andriy Sybiha, Roman Mashovets and Rostyslav Shurma.

Yermak thanked the new government of Italy and, in particular, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for the strong support of Ukraine.

"We heard a very strong and principled statement of the Prime Minister at the G19 summit in Bali regarding the support of our Peace Formula and the Peace Summit," the Head of the President’s Office noted.

"We will never forget what Italy has done to support Ukraine. And today we have an opportunity to discuss ways of deepening our cooperation. Our countries have always had very warm and close relations, so I am confident that Ukraine and Italy have great opportunities for cooperation," the Head of the President’s Office noted.

According to the presidential press service, in particular, Yermak proposed to consider the possibility of launching new infrastructure, logistics, production and commercial projects with Ukraine, which would open new markets for the Made in Italy brand. For its part, our state is interested in the development of the Made in Ukraine program and in supporting the promotion of Ukrainian exports to the Italian market.

For his part, Adolfo Urso emphasized: Italy supports Ukraine in its struggle for sovereignty and territorial integrity, as it was repeatedly stated by Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni.

The Minister of Enterprises and Production stressed that today the Confindustria representative office starts its work in Ukraine, which testifies to the support from the companies – leaders of the Italian industry and their interest in participating in the restoration of the Ukrainian infrastructure.

"We are here to talk about cooperation in the field of production and technology, as well as participation in the reconstruction process, both as donors and contractors," Adolfo Urso said.

He proposed to organize a large conference in Italy with the participation of representatives of the Ukrainian government and Italian business.

In addition, Yermak informed the representatives of the Italian government about the current situation on the frontline.

It was noted that the Italian government has made a decision to provide Ukraine with the sixth package of defense assistance. The parties discussed cooperation in this sphere.

Italy will also provide Ukraine with generators to support the energy system, Adolfo Urso said.