Ukraine and France enhance strategic cooperation and stand ready to give new impetus to the development of joint investment projects and energy programs. Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman underscored joint activities of the two states during a meeting with a delegation of the French Senate.

"Our meeting is another opportunity to hear each other. And I want to thank France for the comprehensive support for Ukraine during the time of trial", said Volodymyr Groysman.

The Head of Government briefed the interlocutors on the developments in the east of the country and stressed the importance of uniting efforts to restore peace in the region, in particular to prolong the sanctions policy.

"I thank you for taking a decision to visit Donbas. It is important to see firsthand what exactly is happening there. And it is crucial for us that an issue of peacekeeping mission be included into the agenda of the UN General Assembly, which will soon begin its work. We must settle the problem and curb Russian aggression", urged Volodymyr Groysman.

In turn, Head of the France-Ukraine Friendship Group of the French Senate Hervé Maurey stressed that France has always been a staunch supporter and friend of Ukraine. "We adhere to the principles of inviolability of the state borders of Ukraine. And we express our support for your confrontation with the aggressor", the parliamentarian said.

During the talks, the Prime Minister of Ukraine drew attention to the fact that despite the hostility and a hybrid war waged against Ukraine, our state is demonstrating significant economic progress and is planning to implement large-scale reforms.

"We are facing a number of challenges and we need to make changes in various spheres. We have a lot to do", said Volodymyr Groysman.

Hervé Maurey commended the endeavours undertaken by the Ukraine’s Government: "Reforms in Ukraine are more embracing. But most importantly those are taking place amid military confrontation", stressed the representative of the Senate of France.

In this context, the parties noted that Ukraine's economic growth was the key to the revival of bilateral relations with France. Thus, in the first half of the year, trade between the states increased by 15% and exceeded USD 1.1 billion. The final stage see such important investment projects as joint construction with the French partners of the transshipment grain complex at the Odessa Commercial Sea Port, a solid waste recycling plant in Lviv. A proposal by the French energy giant ENGIE, being a natural gas supplier to Ukraine, to build a solar power station in Chernobyl got multifaceted assistance.

"The scale of economic cooperation is rather high. We can talk about the creation of a favorable investment climate that is gradually taking place in Ukraine. And we are grateful for the attention of the French business to Ukraine”, said Volodymyr Groysman. "Irrelevant of the political polarity, we want peace and development for our peoples."

The sides reminded the experience of conducting a Ukrainian-French forum in Paris last fall and agreed that such a format of cooperation is effective, since it bases on direct contacts between business circles and authorities, and thus contributes to the rapid adoption of mutually beneficial decisions.

Moreover, the parties noted significant progress in culture, in particular in the area of cinematography and the implementation of joint cinema projects, as well as education. Kyiv has already offered French colleagues a draft intergovernmental agreement on mutual recognition of diplomas and invited to hold the first working meeting of Ukrainian and French experts on this issue in Kyiv in the coming months.