First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko and Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Kachka met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jaroslav Kurfürst in the framework of his visit to Ukraine.

The officials of the two States discussed a wide range of issues, in particular, the functioning of the Ukrainian economy against the background of russian aggression and the process of restoring our state. First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko has noted that the country continues to fully finance pensions, salaries and social benefits, as well as implement programs to support small and medium-sized businesses, in particular, within the framework of the eRobota programme.

The Ukrainian Government officials also thanked the Czech Republic for providing our country with the military, financial and humanitarian aid in the fight against the russian occupiers and expressed hope for further financial and economic support in the process of implementation of priority post-war reconstruction measures. In particular, they congratulated the initiative of the Czech Republic for its patronage in the reconstruction of the Dnipropetrovsk region.

"We appreciate the Czech Republic's contribution to ensuring the unity of the European Union and we are grateful for your support for the EU's joint decision to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership. The Ukrainian side assumes that during the Czech Presidency in the EU during July - December 2022, all prerequisites necessary for the initiation of pre-accession negotiations between Ukraine and the EU will be achieved," Yulia Svyridenko stressed.

The Czech delegation also included representatives of the parliament, in particular Chairman of the Security Committee Pavel Žáček, and the Ministry of Defense.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva expressed his gratitude to the Czech government for the constant political support of Ukraine, as well as for the significant practical assistance to our country, which is provided by the Czech partners to overcome the consequences of Russian military aggression.

"Ukraine is immensely grateful to our Czech partners for providing weapons as defense against the occupiers, because this is exactly the help we need most now," he said.

The deputy head of the President's Office briefed the counterparts on the current security situation in Ukraine, in particular on the threats that arose due to enemy shelling of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP.

The discussion was focused on the interaction of the parties in the context of the Czech presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of the current year. Zhovkva and Kurfürst coordinated positions on high-level events planned by the Czech presidency in support of Ukraine's European integration movement.

"We are determined to ensure the great progress in implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission. We expect that our fruitful interaction with the Czech presidency will contribute to the start of the negotiation process regarding the EU membership of Ukraine," Zhovkva said.

The parties also discussed in detail the prospects for the Czech Republic's participation in the large-scale reconstruction project of Ukraine, in particular through the patronage of one of the regions of our country and the implementation of specific reconstruction projects.

Particular attention was paid to the preparation for the online summit of the leaders of the Crimea platform, which is designed to enshrine the issue of the deoccupation of Crimea in the international agenda, as well as to confirm the world's position regarding the obligation to observe the principles of international law.

"We expect that the Czech Republic will be represented at the summit at the highest possible level," the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine said.