Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, met with Ľudovít Ódor, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, on the sidelines of the GLOBSEC international security forum in Bratislava, Slovakia.

The parties discussed further consolidation of international assistance to Ukraine, deepening economic cooperation, in particular through the implementation of joint cross-border projects and improving communication between the two countries.

The Deputy Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Ľudovít Ódor for supporting Ukraine in countering the full-scale aggression of russia as well as Ukrainian citizens who have taken refuge from the war in Slovakia. Olha Stefanishyna, co-chair of the Ukrainian-Slovak Intergovernmental Commission, noted that the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the preparation of joint projects for EU programmes should become an important tool for strengthening cooperation between the countries.

"This is a crucial step in enhancing our EU accession process - establishing effective cooperation, including the exchange of experience between our countries in implementing joint projects under EU programmes. Slovakia has become the first country with which we will build a format of cooperation that will help us attract more funding for joint initiatives," Olha Stefanishyna said.

The meeting's participants paid special attention to the issue of trade and transit of Ukrainian products through Slovakia. Olha Stefanishyna emphasised that the land border with the EU was crucial for Ukrainian exports and was essential for our economic survival and global food security.

"It is important to find a constructive and predictable approach to resolve this challenging situation. So far, we have acted together to overcome the challenges provoked by the russian war, and this has made us stronger and more resilient. The consultation platform we have proposed can be an effective tool for developing solutions in the trade sphere," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

She also added that the imposed restrictions fuel russian propaganda and undermine Ukraine's economic sovereignty.

"The more opportunities Ukrainian companies have to sell their products, the less international financial assistance we will need," the representative of the Ukrainian Government added.

In addition, Olha Stefanishyna stressed that Ukraine continued comprehensive reforms in the difficult times of a full-scale war and fulfilled its international obligations on the way to full membership in the EU. For his part, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Ľudovít Ódor assured that Slovakia would continue to fully support Ukraine on its path to EU membership.

"We are not only implementing the reforms that we committed to carry out to start negotiations on EU membership, we are focused on creating and maintaining levers of trust in Ukraine, especially in terms of the rule of law and anti-corruption measures. The scale of reconstruction, recovery and economic revival of Ukraine is enormous right now, even before the end of the war, so international partners must have full confidence in the transparency of processes and reporting," stressed the Deputy Prime Minister.