On May 20, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha took part in the reception on the Third European Union - African Union Ministerial Meeting upon the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium Maxime Prévot and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.

During the event Andriy Sibiha held a series of encounters with ten African colleagues and the leadership of the African Union.

In particular, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister met with his colleagues from Malawi – Nancy Tembo, Togo – Robert Dussey, Equatorial Guinea – Simeón Oyono Esono Angüe, the Comoros – Mbaye Mohamed Mbaye, Nigeria – Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Mauritania – Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, Tunisia – Mohamed Ali Nafti, Lesotho – Lejone Mpotjoane, Chairperson of the African Union Commission Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kenya Abraham Korir SingOei.

The Minister discussed with his African colleagues the development of cooperation and deepening of Ukraine's ties with their respective countries and the African Union in general.

The Foreign Minister emphasized the importance attached by Ukraine to the development of cooperation with African partners, mentioning expansion of our country's diplomatic presence in Africa by opening eight new Ukrainian embassies on the continent last year.

The Minister stated that the voice of African countries is extremely important and their role on the international arena should further increase. He emphasized that African partners also have an important influence upon advancing peace efforts and defending the principles of the UN Charter.

Andriy Sybiha recalled Ukraine's role as a guarantor of food security and assured that our country will continue to stand as a reliable partner in food supplies. He mentioned the importance of the humanitarian program of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, aiming to support the people in the countries and regions suffering from acute food crisis.

The Foreign Minister emphasized the readiness of our country to contribute to increasing the self-sufficiency of the African partners, namely through ready-to-share Ukrainian agricultural technologies. He also assured of Ukraine's readiness to develop cooperation in the spheres of education, energy, security, digitalization, etc.