Ivan Pilyak, mayor of the Ukrainian city of Skhidnytsia, in the province of Lviv, visited Calpe Town Hall this morning as part of the recent collaboration agreement signed between the Federation of Municipalities of Madrid (FMM) and the Mayors Club of Ukraine. This visit comes three years to the day since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
During the visit, the mayor of Calpe, Ana Sala, and the councillor for European Residents, Marco Bittner, gave a warm welcome to the Ukrainian representative, who showed a particular interest in learning about the development of tourism in the town. The programme included a visit to Calpe's main tourist facilities in order to learn first-hand about the key aspects of the local tourism model.
‘This meeting lays the foundations for establishing a fluid and lasting relationship with Ukrainian municipalities, with the aim of sharing experiences and knowledge that can contribute to the future reconstruction of their country,’ said the mayor after the visit.
Calpe is currently home to more than a thousand Ukrainians, including some from the city of Skhidnytsia. The mayor recalled Calpe's support and solidarity with the Ukrainian people, both in welcoming citizens who have been forced to leave their country and in sending humanitarian aid to the war zone.
For his part, Ivan Pilyak expressed his gratitude for the Spanish aid and emphasised the need to build bridges for trade and exchange in order to normalise the situation in Ukraine as a future member of the European Union. Pilyak also pointed out that his town is a spa area and that he hopes to be able to become a tourist destination once the war is over.
This initiative joins the efforts of numerous Spanish municipalities to build bridges of cooperation with Ukraine in areas such as infrastructure, urban planning, humanitarian assistance, education, culture and technology, with special emphasis on the future reconstruction of Ukrainian cities affected by the war.