On 10 November 2020, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had an online meeting with Jeppe Kofod, Foreign Minister of Denmark.
The ministers discussed cooperation between the countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dmytro Kuleba offered deep gratitude to the Danish government for providing 50 lung ventilators to Ukraine to treat critically ill patients. "Ukraine is grateful for this sign of true friendship and support from Denmark”, he said.
The parties also discussed the Crimean Platform, which aims to consolidate international community effort to protect human rights and de-occupy the Ukrainian peninsula. Dmytro Kuleba informed Jeppe Kofod on the upcoming inaugurations Crimean Platform Summit scheduled for May 2021, and invited Denmark to join it.
The sides also mentioned the entry into force of an intergovernmental agreement allowing the implementation of projects under the Danida Business Finance program in Ukraine. Dmytro Kuleba noted that renewable energy, energy efficiency, water supply and wastewater treatment are areas of special interest to Ukraine. He also invited Danish companies to participate in the Ukraine President’s "Great Construction" project and the development of Ukrainian infrastructure.
The ministers agreed to establish a Ukrainian-Danish business council to promote trade and investment between Ukraine and Denmark.
During the meeting, the parties paid special attention to European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, speaking positively of the results of the Ukraine-EU Summit on 6 October. The Danish Foreign Minister gave assurances of Copenhagen's further commitment to support reforms in our country, as well as of its permanent support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
In the first half of 2020, trade in goods and services between Ukraine and Denmark amounted to $313.98 million. Ukrainian exports, if compared to the corresponding period of 2019, decreased by 16.7% and amounted to $191.14 million. Imports decreased by 17.7% and amounted to $122.84 million. Positive balance of bilateral trade in goods and services during this period amounted to $68.3 million. The drop in overall bilateral trade occurred due to the global economic crisis and economic activity decline due to COVID-19.