Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba took part in the third edition of annual Kyiv Jewish Forum, which this year was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the State of Israel.
Dmytro Kuleba mentioned that the Ukrainian and Jewish peoples were united by the centuries of common history. He particularly highlighted the important role that the Ukrainian community in Israel and the Jewish community in Ukraine had historically played and continued to do so in strengthening relations between the two states. The Minister said that two nations share the pain of the tragic pages of history, in particular the tragedy of Babyn Yar. He stressed: Ukraine seeks to preserve the memory of this Nazi crime for future generations, so that such a tragedy never happens again.
The Minister emphasized intensive high-level political dialogue: the visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the State of Israel and the visit of President of the State of Israel Isaac Herzog to Ukraine this year.
Dmytro Kuleba paid special attention to the successful development of relations between Ukraine and the State of Israel currently, underlined the strengthening of people-to-people ties despite the COVID-19 pandemic, intensive development of trade and investment cooperation, mutually beneficial partnership in IT and agriculture – spheres for which both Ukraine and Israel are well known: «In a week, Ukraine will host the fourth Ukrainian-Israeli Innovation Summit, which will bring together entrepreneurs, technology businesses, government and education representatives. Today, more than 15,000 Ukrainian specialists are involved in the Israeli IT sector. Along with cooperation in the agricultural sector, this sphere is one of the most promising areas of cooperation between our countries».
Dmytro Kuleba noted the success of the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and the State of Israel, which had been agreed upon last year by the heads of our states. Thanks to this document, bilateral trade in goods increased by 10% in 9 months of 2021: «The next logical step will be negotiations to extend the Free Trade Agreement to services. This will give impetus to trade for the benefit of our peoples. Ukraine is ready for the start of these talks».
The Minister noted that the volume of Israeli investments in Ukraine's economy had recently increased. It has reached $100 million, but this is only a small part of the potential that can be unleashed: «Ukraine is open to further Israeli investments, and the Government of Ukraine is committed to promoting and protecting investments».
The Minister expressed gratitude to the Israeli side for its consistent support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, in particular during the voting on Ukrainian resolutions within the UN.
For reference: Diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Israel were established on December 26, 1991. The state of Israel is an important partner of Ukraine in the Middle East. In 2020, the volume of bilateral trade in goods and services amounted to 907.3 million USD. In 2021, the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Israel entered into force.