Last week, a Ukrainian delegation from Odesa visited the community (municipality) of Mandra-Eidillia in Greece.
As part of the delegation from Ukraine, Oleg Radkovskiy, the first deputy chairman of the Odesa Regional Council, former mayor of Mariupol, People's Deputy of four convocations Mykhailo Pozhivanov, deputy mayor of Izmail Serhiy Luzanov, People's Artist of Ukraine Vira Revenko and poet Vasyl Stepanenko arrived in Greece.
The main purpose of the visit is to agree on the main points of the Memorandum on cooperation and mutual understanding between the cities of Mandra-Eidillia (Greece) and the city of Izmail (Ukraine), as well as establishing close cooperation in the field of humanitarian aid to the Odesa region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the communities of the region.
At the meeting held at the Mimis Doukas Cultural Center in the city of Mandra, the main points of the future Memorandum on cooperation and twinning between the two cities were discussed and agreed upon.
The Ukrainian delegation was met by the mayor of Mandra-Eidillia, Christos Stafis, who noted the importance of the historical ties connecting the two countries. Member of Parliament Vangelis Liakos, Secretary of the Parliament of Western Attica Evangelos Liakos, Deputy Mayor of Erythron Michalis Sakellaris, President of the local council of Vilia Konstantinos Makrinoris and President of the local council of Mandras Panagiotis Papaioannou also took part in the event from the Greek side.
As Oleh Radkovskiy said, based on the results of the visit and the agreement of all the details, the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation and Mutual Understanding between the Mayor of Mandra-Eidillia Hristos Stafis and the Mayor of Izmail Andriy Abramchenko is scheduled for February next year.
"I am very pleased that the city of Izmail will have such a good counterpart in Greece and will be able to exchange ideas, experience and develop even better. Also, on behalf of the head of the regional council Hryhoriy Didenko, he presented honorary awards and souvenirs for the 90th anniversary of the Odesa region to the mayor of the city of Mandra-Eidillia Hristos Stafis. I would like to personally thank my colleague Mykhailo Pozhivanov, who established close and productive relations with Greece even during the leadership of Mariupol, which helped us a lot today," added the politician.
The deputy mayor of Izmail, Serhiy Luzanov, also handed over awards and souvenirs to the Greek colleagues on behalf of the mayor Andriy Abramchenko and presented the main features of the city and outlined directions for future cooperation.
In turn, Mykhailo Pozhivanov noted that, in addition to discussing and agreeing on the Memorandum on twinning, together with his Greek colleagues, they discussed directions of cooperation in the cultural, educational and sports spheres between Odesa and the Greek region of Mandra.
"In continuation of our September trip to Greece, we have worked on economic relations, support of local industry and infrastructure of Ukraine. At the meeting with the member of the Greek Parliament Vangelis Lyakos, they discussed the issue of interregional cooperation with the Odesa region, the general support of Ukraine in the Parliament of Greece, and the support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the country's power structures," said Mykhailo Pozhivanov.
Also, as part of the visit, politicians held a meeting in the city of Piraeus with the Secretary General of the Greece-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce Gerasimos-Nikolaos Bugas.
According to Oleg Radkovskyi, at the meeting with Mr. Bugas, they discussed economic cooperation between enterprises of Odesa and Greece, sea transportation and logistics during military operations.
"The issue of support for our country on the way to the EU and NATO by the Greek public was separately raised. Thank you for your comprehensive support and understanding to the Secretary General of the Greece-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce Gerasimos-Nikolaos Bugas — a true friend of Ukraine," Oleg Radkovskii said.
