During his tour to Africa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba paid the first visit to Liberia in the history of diplomatic relations.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy enjoyed the audience by President George Weah, met with Liberian Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell Kemaya and took part in the celebrations on the occasion of the 176th anniversary of Liberia's independence. It was for the first time in history that Ukraine was represented at high level at the events marking the anniversary of the independence of an African state.

Dmytro Kuleba expressed his gratitude to the Liberian officials for supporting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, voting for resolutions in support to our country in the UN General Assembly and being the first African country that joined the Crimean Platform.

"We support Ukraine now because the Ukrainian contingent of the UN mission maintained peace in Liberia," said President of Liberia George Weah.

The participants discussed the Russian aggression against Ukraine and its consequences for international peace and security. The Minister presented in detail the ten points of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula aimed to restore a fair and lasting peace in Ukraine.

In response, the Liberian side strongly condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine and expressed its readiness to join efforts to implement the Peace Formula as well as to facilitate in convening the Global Peace Summit.

During the ministerial talks, the foreign ministers paid special attention to Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which played an important role in ensuring global food security. The Liberian minister expressed his support for the steps taken by Ukraine to preserve maritime exports of Ukrainian grain from Ukrainian ports.

The participants also discussed the development of bilateral cooperation in trade, construction, healthcare and education.

Ukraine and Liberia traditionally enjoy friendly relations. In 2004-2018, Ukrainian helicopter contingent operated in Liberia as part of the UN peacekeeping mission. At that time, about 5,000 Ukrainian servicemen served in Liberia. The flight crew spent more than 60 thousand hours in the Liberian sky, transporting about 250 thousand persons and more than 6.5 thousand tons of cargo. In 2021, Ukrainian translation of the classic of Liberian literature, "Murder in the Cassava Field" by Bai T. Moore, was published in Ukraine.

The history of friendly bilateral relations and the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to Liberia create new opportunities for the Ukrainian state, business and citizens, and continue the renaissance of Ukrainian-African relations that began last year.