The European Investment Bank expresses readiness to participate in projects aimed to provide assistance to the Ukrainian Pryazovya (the areas of the Sea of Azov region). This was announced by Jean-Erik de Zagon, Head of the EIB Resident Representation for Ukraine, during a meeting with Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.

Jean-Erik de Zagon told about his vision of the situation in the Sea of Azov region and the possibility of implementation of a number of investment projects there.

"Being a member of the EU Mission for Pryazovya issues, I saw with my own eyes the needs of the region. In particular, a road network connecting Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, Berdyansk and Mykolayiv require major repairs. Hence, there is a lot to work on", said the Head of the EIB Representation.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the evaluation report of the EU expert mission to the Azov Sea region, which had recently completed its work in there, would provide grounds for the active involvement of the EIB in helping the region.

"Russian aggression in the Black Sea waters has severe impact on the region's economy. I believe that the implementation of infrastructure projects can significantly increase the stability of the region", stressed Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.

She emphasized that the current goal is to strengthen the security and social cohesion of the communities, support the economic recovery of conflict-affected communities of Donbas. Therefore, the support of the European Union and the EIB in this context would be rather appropriate.

Apart from the prospects for drafting and launching projects aimed at assisting the Azov Sea region, the parties also discussed the projects being currently implemented in Ukraine, as well as the possibility of introducing a humanitarian patronage initiative by the EU in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.