Maryna Mykhailenko, Ukrainian ambassador to Portugal, was in Lagos this Thursday, February 29th.
The diplomat began a tour of the Algarve in Lagos and was received by the municipal executive at the 21st Century Town Hall, where a ceremony took place which was also attended by Roman Grymalyuk, Oleksandra Tynkalyuk and Carlos Cabral, representatives of Oranta – Association to Support the Ukrainian Community in Portugal.
The meeting served for the municipality of Lagos to reiterate its availability for cooperation, both for solidarity actions to support the victims of the war, and for the much desired prevalence of peace and subsequent reconstruction of Ukraine.
Maryna Mykhailenko, who arrived in Portugal in May 2023 to assume diplomatic representation at the Ukrainian Embassy and increase bilateral relations between the two countries, recognized and thanked the great support provided by the municipality and the Lacobrigense community, highlighting the reception of temporarily displaced people of Ukraine that still remain today in facilities prepared for this purpose.
Recalling the visit of senior representatives of the Portuguese State to Ukraine and expressing confidence in the continued support from foreign partners, the Ambassador highlighted the importance and need to, in parallel, increase work to strengthen friendship and cooperation relations between the regions.
This includes contacts being established for a possible twinning between the municipality of Lagos and the local authority of a coastal city located in the Odessa region.
The program included visits to companies in the construction sector located in the business areas of Lagos and meetings with their respective managers, to whom the diplomatic delegation presented projects for strengthening bilateral trade and economic cooperation, increasing the participation of the Portuguese Republic in the reconstruction process in Ukraine, notably through the Nazovni platform.
Under the pretext of visiting the historic center of the city and the Museum of Lagos, the possibility of partnerships in the cultural aspect was also discussed, with Maryna Mykhailenko inviting the municipality to participate in the project sponsored by Olena Zelenska, Ukrainian first lady, which consists of creation and availability of audio guides for visiting museums in the Ukrainian language, which is already implemented in 44 countries and 192 museums.
The Espiche temporary accommodation center, which was installed in a former primary school provided by the municipality to MAPS – a partner entity in the creation of this new social response – and where several families displaced from Ukraine are living, was the last stopping point of this visit.
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