City of Brussels Mayor, Philippe Close, alongside the Brussels State Secretary for International Relations Pascal Smet, and arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday evening to take part in an investment forum for the reconstruction of the Ukrainian capital.
The 'Kyiv Investment Forum' took place in Brussels for the first time in November 2022. Various organisations and cities – such as Helsinki, Paris, Rome and Brussels – are joining forces to prepare for the sustainable reconstruction of the city. With the support of the European Commission, European cities must bring together financial institutions and private investors to finance Kyiv's recovery.
"As the European Capital, Brussels prides itself on its strong relationship with Kyiv and Ukraine. Both the Brussels-Capital Region, since 1997, and the City of Brussels have a long-term cooperation agreement with the Ukrainian capital," said Smet and Close in a joint press release upon their arrival in the city.
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An important part of the collaboration focuses on cultural exchange, they underlined. "For example, a gigantic image of the theatre of Mariupol has recently adorned the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in the heart of Brussels."
On 16 March 2022, that theatre was completely destroyed after an air raid, despite hundreds of people using it as a shelter at the time. "Additionally, Kyiv will also have a prominent place in the Art Nouveau year that Brussels is currently organising."
On Twitter, Close stated that Smet and him, as well as several members of Brussels' CHU Saint-Pierre Hospital, travelled 27 hours for the humanitarian mission and brought medical equipment with them.
On Thursday, the two Brussels politicians will attend a conference with the European cities that want to help Ukraine, along with mayor Vitali Klitschko.
