Cooperation between the countries in the political, economic and military spheres, achieving a just peace and rebuilding Ukraine were the key topics of the meeting between First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko and President of the Portuguese Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

During the meeting, Yuliia Svyrydenko expressed gratitude to the President and the people of Portugal for the support provided to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Portugal has systematically provided diplomatic, defence, humanitarian and financial assistance to Ukraine.

“Today, almost 60,000 Ukrainians who were forced to leave Ukraine have found refuge in Portugal. We called on our partners to join programmes that create conditions for the return of Ukrainians where it is safe and possible. We also thanked the President for his efforts to strengthen economic cooperation between our countries and for Portugal’s active participation in thematic conferences on the Peace Formula. At the first Global Peace Summit, the country was represented at the highest level,” Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine, said.

Yuliia Svyrydenko also thanked for the systematic deepening of economic cooperation between Ukraine and Portugal in recent years.

According to the results of 2023, bilateral trade with Portugal amounted to USD 293.7 million and increased by 49.4% compared to the corresponding period of 2022. Exports of goods from Ukraine also grew, totalling USD 223.5 million last year. This is 64.6% more than in 2022.

The growth continued this year. In January-August 2024, bilateral trade increased by 15.1% or USD 29.2 million compared to the same period last year.