Lithuania's Kazlu Ruda, Ukraine's Khotyn sign cooperation pact

VILNIUS – The Lithuanian city of Kazlu Ruda and the Ukraine city of Khotyn, Ukraine, have signed an agreement on closer cooperation and the exchange of information and best practices.

The agreement was signed by the two cities' Mayors Mantas Varaska and Andriy Dranchuk on Tuesday, Kazlu Ruda Municipality said in a statement.

The document also provides for the development and organization of the implementation of joint ideas in the fields of culture and tourism, as well as for cooperation in the fields of energy, health care and education.

"Our energy solutions were implemented some time ago, and we can already summarize our experience, so we will be happy to introduce our counterparts from Khotyn to the possibilities and invite them to evaluate the solutions used in Kazlu Ruda," Varaska said.

"We hope that the signed cooperation agreement between our cities will not be a formal document. I very much hope that we will be able to share our different experiences and find ways to involve a broader range of people in our cooperation, such as art collectives and educational institutions," he added.

Khotyn is located in the western part of Ukraine and has a population of around 10,000 people. The city has historical links with Lithuania.