On August 14, Acting Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Tetyana Berezhna, met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Italian Republic to Ukraine, Carlo Formosa. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Ministers Andrii Nadzhos and Anastasia Bondar.
Tetyana Berezhna expressed her gratitude to the Italian side for its support and the successful organization of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025), which took place in July in Rome. She also emphasized the importance of the initiatives launched during the event, in particular: the establishment of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund, the launch of the CURE cultural recovery platform, and the formation of the Cultural Resilience Alliance.
Both parties acknowledged URC2025 as a significant milestone in building long-term partnerships focused on sustainable post-war recovery, with culture recognized as one of the key pillars of resilience.
Tetyana Berezhna also extended her personal thanks to the Italian Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, for supporting Ukraine’s position on canceling concerts by russian performers who serve as instruments of public propaganda for the putin regime and justify russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Carlo Formosa reaffirmed Italy’s interest in furthering practical cooperation in the comprehensive preservation of Ukraine’s historical and cultural heritage. In this context, special attention was given to the Grant Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Italian Republic for the implementation of the program “Restoration and Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of the Odesa Region”, which was signed during URC2025 in Rome. Under the agreement, the Italian government will provide Ukraine with €32.5 million in non-repayable aid to support the program.
Deputy Minister for Digital Development, Digital Transformations and Digitalization, Anastasia Bondar, highlighted Italy’s experience in integrating cultural and artistic components into urban development processes. The discussion included prospects for cooperation in recovery and infrastructure rebuilding projects.
Deputy Minister for European Integration, Andrii Nadzhos, invited the Italian side to participate in an upcoming conference on combating the illicit trafficking of cultural property, which the Ministry plans to host this fall. The event will focus on coordinating international efforts to protect cultural heritage from illegal export, appropriation, and other crimes against culture.
