The Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Matvii Bidnyi met with the Ambassador of the Italian Republic to Ukraine Carlo Formosa.

Matvii Bidnyi thanked the Italian Government for supporting Ukraine and helping Ukrainian citizens, including youth and athletes, who had been forced to leave the country due to russia's full-scale invasion. The Minister also expressed his gratitude for the clear position of the Italian Republic in condemning the actions of russia and belarus since the first days of russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.

The Italian Ambassador assured the Ukrainian side of his unconditional support and expressed solidarity with the sports sector of Ukraine in the face of the ongoing war.

The Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine briefed the Italian side on the situation in Ukrainian sports in the context of the full-scale invasion of russia. He focused on the losses suffered by the sphere of physical culture and sports since the beginning of the war between russia and Ukraine.

During the meeting, the parties discussed bilateral cooperation in anti-doping activities, the development of sports science and medicine, and other issues of sports sector development.

An important issue of the meeting was the preparation for the next Ukraine Recovery Conference to be held in Italy in 2025.

“It is extremely important for the Ukrainian side that the youth dimension of URC 2024 be present next year, and that the topic of rebuilding sports infrastructure take an important place in the discussions during the Conference," the Minister said.

The meeting also brought together Deputy Minister Andrii Chesnokov, Head of the International Cooperation and European Integration Department Nataliia Radchuk, and Deputy Head of the Strategic Planning and Communications Department Serhii Bykov.

The parties agreed to deepen cooperation by signing a Memorandum/Agreement of Cooperation between the two countries' respective ministries.