The mayor of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, met this Tuesday in Madrid with the Ukrainian ambassador to Spain, Serhii Pohoreltsev, to whom he conveyed his will to carry out a twinning with the Ukrainian city of Lviv (Lviv in Spanish ), also recognized as a World Heritage City by Unesco.
In the meeting held at the Embassy of Ukraine, the mayor conveyed to the highest diplomatic representative of the Slavic country the solidarity of La Laguna with the Ukrainian people, invaded by Russia for more than a year, and explained the terms of this agreement of twinning that carries with it a desire for international cooperation and cultural exchange, giving them a copy of the agreement of the plenary session of the La Laguna City Council. Luis Yeray Gutiérrez recalled that the mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyy, has already responded affirmatively to his letter in which he proposed the creation of this link between the two cities.
The ambassador has thanked the initiative of the mayor of La Laguna and both parties have agreed to draw up a protocol in which to establish the times to formalize the twinning, which includes the visit of a municipal delegation to Lviv, and another by the Ukrainian city to The lagoon. In addition, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez has formally invited the ambassador to visit Tenerife.
During the meeting, the ambassador requested that the most immediate humanitarian aid be translated into the acquisition of an armored ambulance, an essential vehicle in the territories most affected by the conflict. Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, in his capacity as president of the Group of Cities of Humanity of Spain, has promised to present this request within the Group, to try to achieve a joint positive response. On the other hand, the possibility of organizing different acts of solidarity in order to raise funds to help the country’s humanitarian needs has been raised.
The purpose of the twinning between La Laguna and Leópolis is to establish a cooperative relationship and create the necessary mechanisms for its application. In this sense, specific projects are identified as short-term priorities, such as humanitarian aid for medicines and laboratory material; direct help for people with food intolerances; school supplies; support to the world of culture in Lviv.
As sister cities, La Laguna and Leópolis will cooperate in their respective areas of competence, especially in areas such as youth and education, with training programs, knowledge transfer and exchange; entrepreneurship in the cultural heritage sector; and smart asset management.
Sixth most populous city in the country, with 717,510 inhabitants, Lviv is one of the most important tourist, cultural and educational centers in the country. Its old town was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998. Its inscription highlights the perfect blend of Central and Eastern European architectural and artistic traditions with Italian, Polish, Austrian and German influences. The importance of the architecture of Lviv is evidenced by the fact that more than fifty percent of the monuments of Ukraine are in this city.
