Ukrainian FM reaches agreements on visits by Senegal's president, Ivory Coast FM, opening of Ukraine's embassy in Accra
MOSCOW. Oct 19 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba during his Africa tour reached agreements on visits to Ukraine by Senegal's president and the foreign minister of Ivory Coast and on the opening of Ukraine's embassy in Accra.
"During the tour, I managed to reach agreements on a whole range of concrete issues. We agreed on visits to Ukraine by the president of Senegal and the foreign minister of Ivory Coast and on broadening Ukraine's diplomatic presence in Ghana, namely the opening of the embassy of Ukraine in Accra and taking steps with the help of the national Foreign Ministries to develop a comprehensive roadmap aimed at further promoting bilateral relations between Ukraine and Ghana," Ukrainian media quoted Kuleba as saying at an online press briefing on Tuesday.
A crucial element of the tour became Ukrainian representatives' meetings with local business circles from African countries, which focused on the priority avenues of practical cooperation - agriculture and agribusiness, machine building, digital and information technologies and the pharmaceutical industry, the minister said.
"We signed memoranda of understanding between the Foreign Ministry's Council of Exporters and Investors and African countries' business association and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and agreed to consider the possibility of forming a joint intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and Ghana," Kuleba said.
Furthermore, an agreement was achieved to arrange an Ivory Coast business mission to Ukraine and to facilitate interaction between Ukrainian and Kenyan businesses.
Kuleba said that Ukraine's Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa Maxim Subkh, acting on his orders, continued the Africa tour, already visiting Ethiopia, Mozambique, Botswana and South Africa. Subkh also traveled to Nigeria on Tuesday.
"Simultaneously, inter-parliamentary interaction between Ukraine and countries of African is intensifying. The Verkhovna Rada's delegation led by Verkhovna Rada First deputy Speaker Alexander Korniyenko took part in the 145th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Kigali [Rwanda] from October 11 to October 16. The delegation members held a series of meetings with the heads of African countries' delegations with the aim of deepening inter-parliamentary and political cooperation, as well as trade and economic cooperation. On October 14-15, Alexander Korniyenko visited Mozambique, where he met with the speaker of Mozambique's parliament," he said.
The Ukrainian president has already spoken to African leaders on 17 occasions this year, and the first large conference between Ukraine and Africa is due to take place in 2023, Kuleba said.
