Mingarelli: EU increases cooperation with the Kharkiv region

IT, science and education, engineering are among the main areas of further cooperation between the Kharkiv region and the EU.

Head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration (KhRSA) Yulia Svitlychna met with the Head of the Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli at the Kharkiv SME Day Forum on April 9. They discussed the areas of further cooperation.

During the meeting, Yulia Svitlychna declared that the special attention of European partners to our region allows us to get the most effective results from cooperation and identified the main areas that need to be developed.

“EU pograms directed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), which today represent in Kharkiv, bringing new opportunities and markets. Small and medium business is an important engine for every economy of the world. We are interested in helping our agricultural sector develop and produce end products. I hope that the resources provided by the EU and loans at low interest rates will contribute to this”, — the head of the region emphasized.

Yulia Svitlychna admitted that also the main areas of further cooperation will be IT, science and education, engineering, energy saving, renewal of public transport, infrastructure development and logistics.

“We are grateful for the appreciation of our potential. We have very powerful and dynamic relations with the EU Delegation in Ukraine both in foreign trade issues and in the implementation of humanitarian and economic programs. In 2018, Kharkiv enterprises increased exports to EU countries by 30%. And we have very clear plan for further cooperation,» , — the head of the region marked.

Among the main directions of further cooperation with the region, Hugues Mingarelli also mentioned the implementation of energy-efficient technologies, the reform of the health care system, decentralization and the participation of Kharkiv universities in the “Erasmus +” and “Horizon 2020” programs.

“If we can integrate Ukraine into the common market, into the European economy, this will create very positive conditions for investors, for trade and, finally, for creating jobs in Ukraine and in the Kharkiv region. We know that Ukraine is not a resource country. In the Kharkiv region there are developed IT industries, science, education, engineering, aerospace, food industry. We know that you have potential in all these areas. It is important for us to help you realize this potential”, — emphasized the EU Ambassador to Ukraine.