A UNESCO technical delegation will visit Kyiv this week, said Assistant Director General of UNESCO for Priority Africa and External Relations Firmin Eduard Matoko.
“We are planning to send a technical mission to Kyiv with the government of Ukraine this week to further assess the needs and expectations of the Ukrainian authorities and determine the forms of our participation. UNESCO expresses its readiness, together with all partners, to provide technical support in our areas of competence and support the plan for the restoration and development of Ukraine “, Matoko said at a conference on the restoration of Ukraine in Lugano on Tuesday.
He noted that UNESCO regularly monitors the impact of the war on cultural sites, damage to educational institutions, and also the safety of journalists and media workers.
“We protect cultural heritage with satellite monitoring and equipment to protect and stabilize objects,” Matoko said.
According to him, UNESCO is also mobilizing support to ensure continuity of learning for all citizens of Ukraine, supporting online learning in and outside Ukraine, as well as the integration of refugees – students and teachers – into host countries.
He added that since the beginning of the war, UNESCO has been able to mobilize about $5 million for agreements with donor countries in these areas.
A delegation of South Korea’s ruling People’s Power party will visit Ukraine next month, Yonhap reports citing officials.
Party chairman Lee Jung Suk and some party lawmakers will travel to Ukraine in early June as part of a “special delegation of Korean-Ukrainian freedom, peace and solidarity,” they said.
The exact date of the visit has not yet been determined.
“South Koreans deplore the situation in Ukraine and hope for a speedy peace,” the party’s press release quoted the agency as saying.
As noted in the Power of the People, their party will be the first political party in Asia to send a delegation to Ukraine.
The US Congress delegation chaired by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham arrived in Kyiv, where it will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defense Minister Andriy Taran, the US Embassy in Kyiv told Interfax-Ukraine.
It is clarified that the delegation includes US Senators Lindsey Graham (republican, South Carolina), John Barrasso (republican, Wyoming), Ben Sasso (republican, Nebraska), Tommy Tuberville (republican, Alabama) and Congressman William Timmons (republican, South Carolina ).
The delegation is to meet with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defense Minister Andriy Taran.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in a telephone conversation with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, invited a delegation of Saudi business representatives to visit Ukraine and assess the country’s investment opportunities.
“Dmytro Kuleba invited a delegation of Saudi investors and company leaders to visit our state to assess investment opportunities for doing business and the possibility of participating in a large privatization program. The Minister expressed hope that trade issues will be successfully considered in October at the next meeting of the Intergovernmental Ukrainian-Saudi Commission on economic and scientific-technical cooperation in Riyadh,” the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports.
Kuleba himself said that Saudi investments are already working successfully in Ukraine.
“We will welcome their increase. Ukraine is a country of new economic opportunities, especially in the fields of energy, IT, infrastructure, healthcare, agricultural and industrial sectors,” the minister said.
The parties noted the positive dynamics of bilateral relations since their previous conversation in the past, including the holding of the first in eleven years of political consultations between the foreign ministries, and also agreed to continue to maintain a high rate of development of relations between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.
Kuleba noted a significant increase in the number of tourists from Saudi Arabia in Ukraine, which became possible due to the abolition of visa requirements by Ukraine and the opening of direct flights. The Minister expressed hope that next year the number of Saudi guests will increase further, which should be facilitated, in particular, by the granting of additional permits to Ukrainian carriers for regular flights to Saudi Arabia.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, in turn, expressed gratitude for the warm welcome of his compatriots, which strengthens friendly ties between the two countries. He also noted strong trade ties and expressed his conviction that the two countries have great potential for the development of trade and investment.
The parties expressed their readiness to work on the preparation of high-level visits. The Saudi Minister accepted the invitation to visit Ukraine and invited his Ukrainian counterpart to pay a visit to Saudi Arabia.
Next week Turkey is ready to receive a Ukrainian delegation to finalize the technical aspects of the draft agreement on a free trade area (FTA) between the countries, Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Muş said.
“Our delegations have already fruitfully worked on the agreement. And next week we are ready to host a delegation from Ukraine to finalize the technical aspects of the draft agreement,” the press service of the Economy Ministry of Ukraine said, citing Muş, following his videoconference with First Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Liubchenko on Monday.
The Turkish minister said the delegations should intensify their work and in the near future submit a draft agreement on an FTA between the two countries.
“We have several positions left where we must find a balance in our trade relations. It should be noted that during the negotiations with our Turkish colleagues we came to constructive and progressive solutions that will allow us to protect domestic markets where necessary and prepare an agreement, which will contribute to the deepening of trade relations and the development of the economies of our countries,” Liubchenko said.
According to the Economy Ministry, the videoconference was held following a phone conversation between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
A delegation led by the naval attaché at the United States Embassy in Ukraine Peter Mallory has arrived in Odesa, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reports.
According to a report on the department’s website, the naval attaché visited the main base of the Ukrainian Naval Forces, where he held a number of bilateral meetings with representatives of the command of the Ukrainian Navy. The parties discussed areas of bilateral military cooperation.
“We have extensive experience of long-term cooperation with our partners, we have cooperation in terms of both training our ship crews, command and control bodies, and manning and enhancing the capabilities of the Navy at sea. Today was dedicated to cooperation in different directions – this is the training of personnel, and the replenishment of the naval personnel,” said commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Navy Oleksiy Neizhpapa after the meeting.
According to him, the issue of security in the Black and Azov Seas was also discussed.
“This cooperation is very useful and necessary for the Ukrainian Navy,” he said.
DELEGATION, NAVAL ATTACHÉ, ODESA, UNITED STATES EMBASSY, VISIT