Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk held a meeting with Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden Peter Eriksson.

The Ukrainian Prime Minister urged Minister Eriksson to support Ukraine in the framework of the new Assistance Strategy for the states of Eastern Europe for 2021-2027, which Sweden is developing: “We expect that the Swedish Government could stipulate Ukraine's needs in this Strategy. In particular, we are planning to open European Integration Offices in the regions of Ukraine and would greatly appreciate your support for this initiative." The Prime Minister added that Ukraine is claiming to become the largest recipient of assistance under the new Strategy in view of its commitment to the European integration path and active implementation of reforms.

Apart from that, Oleksiy Honcharuk expressed his hope that Sweden would support a special partnership format for Ukraine and other associated countries as participants in the Eastern Partnership initiative.

Besides, the Prime Minister focused on the ACAA Agreement - the so-called "industrial free visa regime" – another step towards the future of Ukraine being fully integrated into the high-quality political and economic environment of the European Union. 

A number of other issues were raised by the Ukrainian side during the meeting.

In particular, the Prime Minister of Ukraine expressed gratitude to Mr. Peter Eriksson for the assistance Sweden provides to Ukrainian citizens who had suffered from Russia's aggression. He also commended the support of Sweden under the EGOV4UKRAINE project (Support for E-Governance Decentralization in Ukraine).

At the meeting, the parties discussed the possibility of launching and deepening cooperation on climate change, energy efficiency and energy security in the region.

Oleksiy Honcharuk said: “Ukraine is interested in enhancing cooperation with Sweden on environmental issues and in energy security. We appreciate the support of your Government in creating an air quality monitoring and evaluation system as well as in implementing the EU Directive on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment as an integral part of the Association Agreement. "

In this context, Mr Peter Eriksson stressed: “We have extensive expertise in waste management and reducing air pollution. We are already working closely with Ukraine in these areas, but we do have the potential to intensify our cooperation.”

At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister of Ukraine hailed the planned in December visit to Ukraine by Prime Minister of Sweden and expressed hope for enhancement of the launched cooperation.