The Head of the Odessa Regional State Administration Sergey Grynevetsky held a working meeting with His Excellency the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Belgium to Ukraine Alex Lenarts, who paid a courtesy visit to Odessa.
In his welcoming speech, the Governor of Odessa region expressed his sincere gratitude to the Ambassador for his work in expanding bilateral relations between Ukraine and Belgium, countries with significant potential for the development of trade, economic and investment cooperation.
Grynevetskyi stressed the importance of carrying out reforms in modern Ukraine - especially administrative-territorial and judicial ones, the goal of which is to create a stable and fair judicial system. And as a result of decentralization, the importance of individual regions is increasing - and this is the main principle on which the modern European community is based. Therefore, the establishment of new contacts and comprehensive development of Ukrainian-European contacts at the interregional level is, according to Grynevetsky, one of the priorities for the development of Odessa region.
The main purpose of the regional government, the head of the Odessa regional state administration identified the improvement of quality of life and attractiveness of the Odessa region to actively attract foreign and domestic investment.
Among the key priority issues that need a comprehensive solution and a competent and balanced approach, the head of the Odessa region noted the agro-industrial complex, especially the restoration of the irrigation system in the face of adverse climate change; ecology sector; development of regional infrastructure and tourism industry.
For his part, the Ambassador underlined the importance and prospects of the Odessa region for establishing comprehensive international (interregional) cooperation, especially in the maritime sector and transport - taking into account the availability of ports in cities such as Antwerp, Odessa, South, Black Sea and Izmail.
Separately, the head of the Odessa Regional State Administration and Mr. Ambassador discussed issues in the field of culture, in particular, the restoration of the Odessa Philharmonic (as part of the Presidential Programme of the Great Restoration) and the VII annual international music festival "Odessa Classics".
I can assure you, Mr. Ambassador, that I am ready for an expanded dialogue and discussion of any initiatives that will contribute to the expansion of partnership between our countries. I have a broad hope that our meeting today will contribute to further fruitful communication, which will lead to positive results for both parties
Sergey Grynevetsky