30 Mar 2023 16:41

Ukrainian Institute opens its first office abroad in Germany

MOSCOW. March 30 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Institute, a state organization responsible for forming a positive image of Ukraine around the world, has opened its first foreign office in Germany, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, which governs the institute, has reported.

"The office's mission is to promote knowledge about and understanding of Ukraine in German society, popularize Ukrainian culture in Germany, and develop sustainable ties between Ukrainian artists, civil society members, and academics and their German counterparts," Ukrainian media quoted the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's statement on its official website on Thursday.

Ukraine's presence on a mental world map, including in the cultural environment, has been a national security factor in the current conditions, the statement says. Cultural diplomacy has become a key avenue of Ukraine's foreign policy, amid the foreign audience's growing interest in Ukraine and its culture, it said.

"The opening of an office of the Foreign Ministry's Ukrainian Institute in Germany is a landmark event for our bilateral relations. This lays the groundwork of firm and strategic relations," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said.

The team of the Ukrainian Institute's office in Germany is preparing a number of events in 2023, including concerts and presentations of musical groups in Hamburg, an exhibition of Ukrainian art in Dresden, theatrical shows in Cologne, debates in Wiesbaden, a display of Ukrainian literature in Frankfurt, and others.

"We are happy that the Ukrainian Institute's first office outside of Ukraine has been opened precisely in Berlin as a symbol of hope and a meeting point of our countries," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.

The Ukrainian government founded the Ukrainian Institute in 2017.