On 23 November, Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa Maksym Subkh paid a working visit to Ethiopia, where he met with the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Monique Nsanzabaganwa.
Maksym Subkh renewed the invitation on behalf of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, to the AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat to visit Kyiv.
During the meeting, the parties substantively discussed ways to activate existing cooperation mechanisms, as well as prospects for deepening cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the AU Commission.
Maksym Subkh offered the leadership of the AU Commission to join the activities to promote the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy among the countries of the continent. The Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa asked the leaders of the African Union to appeal to the Russian side to restore the functioning of the Black Sea Grain Corridor in order to resume the export of Ukrainian grain to African countries.
The Ukrainian diplomat thanked the leadership of the AU Commission for consistently supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. In this context, Maksym Subkh called on Monique Nsanzabaganwa to strengthen coordination among African countries in order to support the "Grain from Ukraine" initiative launched by the President of Ukraine and aimed at the ensuring the supply of food by our country to the countries of Africa and Asia.
In her turn, the Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission confirmed the AU's principled position on the need for all countries to comply with the provisions of the UN Charter and fundamental principles of international law, including respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders.
On the same day, the Special Representative held meetings in Addis Ababa with extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors of the European Union member states - permanent representatives of the EU to the African Union, where he outlined the main priorities of Ukraine's interaction with the countries of the continent.
Maksym Subkh emphasized the need to strengthen efforts to support Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula, aimed at restoring respect for the UN Charter and the rules of international order, as well as the "Grain from Ukraine" initiative, which focused on increasing the number of international donors and recipients. He called on African countries to support the international efforts to unblock the functioning of "grain corridors" and to participate in the Second International Summit on Food Security scheduled for 25 November 2023 in Kyiv. African representatives were also invited to participate in the regular meetings - consultations at the level of national security advisors, initiated by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak.
During his stay in Addis Ababa Maxim Subkh met with the leadership of the European Department of the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry. The parties highlighted the importance of maintaining the positive dynamics of bilateral relations with the accent on the legal basis of relations. The Special Representative invited the Ethiopian side to join the efforts in the international arena to support and promote the Ukrainian Peace Formula.