The completion of the first Romania - Ukraine high-capacity road bridge across the Tisza River, as well as possibilities of participating in the reconstruction of Ukraine were tackled on Friday in Kyiv by president of the Maramures County Council Gabriel Zetea with Ukrainian state officials.
"The most important thing is that we look to the future. At the Ukrainian Parliament - the Supreme Rada - we had key meetings where we discussed the completion of the advancing bridge across the Tisza, linking Sighetu Marmatiei and Solotvino, a vital project for the Romanians on both banks of the river," Zetea said in a Facebook post.
The County Council president also pointed out that a protocol will be signed in the next period with several counties and regional agencies possibly involved in the reconstruction of Ukraine once the war ends.
"Next week, in Sighetu Marmatiei we will sign a protocol between 12 counties and 2 regional development agencies - a historic step and an honor for Maramures. We hope that, amid the European effort to rebuild Ukraine, Western European companies will find in our county a gateway, a solid partner and reliable support. Ukraine's reconstruction can start from Maramures as well," Gabriel Zetea wrote, accompanying his post by a short video made in the Ukrainian capital, illustrating how the war has affected communities, but also conveying a ray of hope for the future.
"These days, I represent Maramures and Romania in Kyiv, on an official visit brimming with emotion and responsibility. I saw the deep traces of an unjust war, I walked the streets of Bucha and Irpin - places where the past still hurts, but where hope is beginning to take shape," Gabriel Zetea also said.
The Maramures County Council has a relationship of over 30 years with the authorities of Ukraine's Transcarpathia region. Also, cultural relations between Maramures and various towns or communes in Transcarpathia date back to the early 1990s.
In the municipality of Sighetu Marmatiei, the Romanian Broadcasting Company established the radio station Sighet which airs programs in Romanian, targeted at ethnic Romanians in Ukraine and the local community.
Maramures County is connected to Ukraine by a wooden road bridge built in the early 2000s, which is now unfit due to the increase in road and passenger traffic between the two countries. The transport of goods between Romania and Ukraine is carried out through the Halmeu border crossing point, in Satu Mare County.
Comentează