Today at 12:31
Photo President Zelensky Press Office
As Ukraine and Israel continue to work to improve relations between the two countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had high level discussion on multiple topics.
In the security and defense arena, Ukraine will look to Israel’s experience.
“As a state, we have a lot to learn from Israel, especially in the issues of security and defense. And we will definitely do that,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.
According to him, the issues of war and security were a priority on the agenda of his talks with Netanyahu, as Israel is well aware of those issues.
Zelensky also thanked the Israeli partners for their continued support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and for an unwavering stand on the war in the east of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea.
On a historical note, Zelensky called on Israel to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-33 as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.
“Ukraine and Israel have long-standing historical ties. Our nations have together experienced all the tragedies of recent history – the Holodomor and the Holocaust, the Second World War, the totalitarian Soviet regime,” he emphasized.
Zelensky and Netanyahu have a visit scheduled to the National Historical and Memorial Reserve “Babyn Yar” to pay tribute to the victims of the Babyn Yar tragedy and the Holocaust.
“These are bitter moments of our common history, which should unite us with the hope for a bright future and the impossibility of repeating such tragedies,” Zelensky emphasized.
Netanyahu noted that mass execution of Jews at Babyn Yar was an example of a common tragedy of Ukrainian and Jewish nations.
In travel and tourism, one issue of concern for Ukraine is the large scale denial of entry and delayed processing of Ukrainian nationals who wish to visit Israel.
“Recently, our countries have been actively cooperating in the field of migration. I am speaking of numerous denials of entering Israel to Ukrainian citizens. We have agreed to finally resolve this issue,” Zelensky said.
He went on to emphasize that citizens of the two countries should be able to fully use the benefits of the visa free regime.
“Citizens of both countries should fully use the benefits of the visa free regime. And there shouldn’t be delays of thousands of Ukrainian citizens on the Israeli border,” Zelensky said.
The two leaders also discussed trade and economic relations between the two countries and investment potential for both sides.
“Israel remains one of Ukraine’s key trading partners in the Middle East region. Our total trade turnover exceeded $1 billion,” Zelensky said.
He also expressed confidence that the figure would increase significantly due to the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Israel. He is also hopeful that the Israeli side would ratify the document in the near future.
“We have also agreed to immediately start working to extend the Agreement to the sphere of services,” Zelensky said.
He noted that, in the next five years, Ukraine’s economy would grow rapidly leading to a need for further foreign investment and technology. He invited Israeli companies to Ukraine to invest in various areas such as road construction and infrastructure projects, medicine and education, energy conservation and IT.
“My goal is Ukraine, which is a world-renowned brand of everything advanced and synonymous with innovation. Our country is rich in scientists and inventors. The whole world knows the capabilities of Ukrainian IT specialists. And we will involve Israel’s experience in the implementation of innovations, supporting start-ups and holding scientific and research developments. I see great potential for mutually beneficial cooperation in these areas,” Zelensky added.
He stressed that, during the negotiations, the possibility of opening separate offices in Kyiv and Jerusalem for the development of the mentioned areas had been discussed.
According to Netanyahu, the world is in the era of positive revolutionary transformations, and the global economy is changing rapidly, creating new opportunities and challenges.
“Today, the quintessence of any country’s development is innovation. And Ukraine has great talents and opportunities for that. Israeli companies work here, and we work with tens of thousands, namely about 50,000 Ukrainian computer engineers, mathematicians, scientists – those involved in the field of modern technology. We see talents and great opportunities,” Netanyahu emphasized.
“We will share technology and involve Ukrainians in our high-tech industry as we will make joint investments in this field in Ukraine. We do not only think about it, but will also facilitate it,” he added.
Also, multiple documents were signed by representatives of both governments while the two leaders observed.
Acting Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Olha Trofimtseva, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine, Joel Lyon, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the sphere of agriculture between the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the State of Israel.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the State of Israel, Hennadii Nadolenko, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine, Joel Lyon, signed an Agreement between the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Ministry of Education of the State of Israel as regards facilitating the study of the Hebrew language in the educational institutions of Ukraine and the study of the Ukrainian language in the educational institutions of the State of Israel.
In addition, the ambassadors of the two states signed a Program of Cooperation in the spheres of education, culture, youth and sports between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the State of Israel for 2019-2022.
State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, Oleksii Perevezentsev, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine, Joel Lyon, signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine and the Israeli Patent Office of the Ministry of Justice of the State of Israel.
