News

The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) in partnership with the Institute of World Policy organized study visit for 13 European and American thought leaders – representatives of the best EU think tanks, international organizations, and prominent journalists.This study visit was part of the German Marshall Fund attempt to develop a common vision and strategy for the Black Sea region. During November 8-13 high-level delegation from the EU and US took part in few dozens of meetings, firstly in Moldova (Chisinau and Tiraspol), and later in Ukraine (Odessa and Kyiv).

Members of the delegation met with key officials, diplomats, representatives of civil society to learn from first hand about the political, economic and social development of both countries.

Participants of the visit: Alina Inayeh, Director, Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, Romania, Thomas Melia, CEO Democracy International, Jackson Diehl, Deputy Editor, The Washington Post, Ursula Palash, Senior Advisor of Strategic Planning European External Action, Reinhard Veser, . editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Paul Pyetzhak, director of analysis in the Office of the President of Poland, Ilze Milta, relations with Russia and Ukraine, NATO, George Aston, . Deputy Chairman of Task-Force Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Tim Judah, Journalist, The Economist, UK, Ross McLaren, Coordinator, Program of Central and Eastern Europe and Russia, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, USA, Mirya Peterson, regional director for Eastern Europe, Swedish International Development Agency, and others.

Ukrainian part of the working visit started in Odessa, where members of the delegation met with local experts, journalists and representatives of the regional administration and the regional election commission.
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Meeting with Olga Gorjeeva, the Head of the Odessa Regional Election Commission Odessa Regional State Administration.
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Working lunch with Sergei Dibrov, journalist, Pavko Kolotvin, Institute of Political Information and Eugene Popov, Representative, Soros Foundation in Odessa
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Meeting with Deputy Governor of the Odessa Regional State Administration Maria Gaidar.
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Visit to the Center for providing administrative services in Odesa.
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Working dinner with Mikheil Saakashvili, Governor of the Odessa Regional State Administration and Yulia Marushevska, the head of Odesa’s
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Working lunch with Geoffrey R. Pyatt, Ambassador, Embassy of the United States, Thomas Frellesen, Deputy Head of Delegation, Delegation of the EU to Ukraine, Dr. Christof Weil, Ambassador, Embassy of Germany and Ertugrul Apakan, Ambassador, Chief Monitor, OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine
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Meeting with Artem Sytnyk, Head, National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
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Talk with Igor Zhovkva, Head of the Main Department for Foreign and European Integration of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine.
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European and American experts discussed the problems of Ukraine from the inside point of view of the Ukrainian leading journalists.
Tetiana Sylina, Chief editor, Weekly Mirror, Tetyana Nіkolayenko, Chief editor, INSIDER, Olexiy Mazuka, Host of “Donbass-reality” to “Radio Svoboda” and Victor Shlinchak, the Head of the information-analytical agency “Glavcom”.
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Meeting with Reanimation Package Reforms representatives: Olena Halushka, RPR international relations manager, Daria Kaleniuk, Executive Director, Anticorruption Action Centr; representative of the Reanimation Package of Reforms and Vadim Miskyi, Coordinator of expert group, Reanimation Package of Reforms.
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Meeting with the Country Director Roland Kovats.
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Dinner discussion with key representatives of the business community Andy Hunder, head of American Chamber of Commerce and Vasile Tofan, Horizon Capital
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Breakfast discussion with MPs: Ivanna Klimpush-Zinzadze, Iryna Gerashcenko, Ostap Symerak and Maria Ionova,
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Meeting with representative of the Crimean Tatar People – Rafat Chubarof.
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Working lunch with Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Deputy Secretary, National Security Council of Ukraine.
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Meeting with Natalia Jaresko, Minister of Finance in Ukraine
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At the end of the day the delegation had the meeting withAivaras Abramovichus, Minister of Economic Development and at the 6 p.m. Meeting with Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Prime Minister of Ukraine