First of all, the Secretary General of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Viacheslav Shtuchnyi and the newly appointed Director of the USAID RADA: The Next Generation Programme Mårten Ehnberg paid tribute to the memory of the MPs of Ukraine and the staff of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine who died as a result of russian armed aggression, and to the memory of the servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine who laid down their young lives defending the state, law and human dignity while serving near the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 31 August 2015.
During the working meeting, Viacheslav Shtuchnyi and Mårten Ehnberg discussed ways to improve the effectiveness of cooperation for the further successful implementation of the Programme to enhance the institutional capacity of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
In particular, the interlocutors discussed cooperation and support of the Secretariat and the Parliament of Ukraine in the context of the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union, development of the Education Centre and the Research Service, and establishment of the Centre for Statehood.
The parties paid special attention to the issue of internships and exchange of experience between the staff of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Secretariat of the European Parliament, as well as the secretariats of the parliaments of EU member states, and to joint roundtables and webinars.