István Mikola, Minister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has said that governments must pay special attention to small and medium-sized enterprises. He was speaking in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, at an event on the last stop in a road show organised by the countries of the Visegrád Four (V4) to support Ukraine by transferring know-how in the field of SMEs.

The Minister of State, who was representing the Government of Hungary as host of the road show, said that SMEs play an important role in Hungary, as well as in other countries in the region. In order to ensure that Central and Eastern European countries represent themselves effectively in the international economic arena – individually or in cooperation – governments must pay special attention to supporting these types of companies, Mr. Mikola explained.

He pointed out that over the past two years Ukraine has undergone significant political, social and economic changes. At the same time, there is still a long road ahead of the country, he said, adding that throughout this journey, the State of Ukraine can always count on Hungary’s support, and that of the V4 countries. One important milestone in this respect is the visa waiver programme between the EU and Ukraine, which was approved thanks to the effective support provided by the V4.

Vinnytsia was the final stop in the road show, and the event was attended by deputy ministers, ministers of state and leading V4 experts, who discussed economic possibilities through which the region’s countries could contribute to strengthening Ukraine’s economy.

(MTI)