Zelensky, Conte discuss consequences of coronavirus pandemic
“The President expressed condolences over the horrific scale of the coronavirus pandemic in Italy, which claimed the lives of over three thousand Italian citizens,” the press service of the Head of State reports.
Zelensky and Conte agreed on the importance of coordinating efforts to combat the spread of the pandemic and overcome the negative socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.
The parties also noted the importance of ensuring continuous transport support for trade between the countries, in particular the supply of food, pharmaceuticals and equipment. The parties agreed to unite efforts to unblock the Italy-Ukraine freight traffic due to restrictions imposed by a number of transit countries.
President Zelensky expressed gratitude to the Italian government for its assistance in organizing the evacuation of Ukrainian citizens who had been blocked at the border with Slovenia.
In addition, the leaders discussed the issue of returning 125 Ukrainians, who are now in Rome, to Ukraine. Giuseppe Conte promised that they would arrive home by a special charter flight of Italian airlines on March 25.
The President also asked about the situation of Vitalii Markiv, Ukrainian convicted in Italy, conveyed words of support to him and wished him to keep well.
Additionally, given Italy's considerable experience in combating coronavirus, Volodymyr Zelensky noted Ukraine's interest in establishing an information exchange at the level of the healthcare services of the two countries in order to study new industry standards and recommendations implemented in Italy to combat the disease.
The parties also discussed measures to continue the highest level political dialogue and implement the agreements reached during the visit of the President of Ukraine to the Italian Republic on February 7, 2020.
According to the Italian Civil Protection Department, 37,860 cases of coronavirus infection were confirmed in Italy as of March 20; 4032 people died.
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