On the sidelines of the 18th Conference of Ministers Responsible for Sport of the Council of Europe, Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Matvii Bidnyi met with State Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of Croatia Josip Pavić.

Matvii Bidnyi thanked the Government and people of Croatia for their support to Ukraine, for helping Ukrainian citizens, including youth and athletes, who were forced to leave Ukraine due to the full-scale invasion.

During the meeting, the parties discussed a number of issues of bilateral cooperation in the field of sports, including joint events in the international arena to increase collective pressure on the aggressor states in the field of sports.

The Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine shared information about the situation in Ukrainian sports in the context of a full-scale invasion and the losses suffered by the sports sector. As of now, 523 sports infrastructure facilities have been destroyed and damaged.

In this context, Matvii Bidnyi expressed his interest in studying the best Croatian experience of post-war reconstruction, including sports infrastructure.

The parties agreed to develop cooperation by drafting and signing a memorandum of cooperation in the field of physical culture and sports between the relevant agencies of the two countries.