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Ukraine, as the largest country in Europe, attaches particular importance to the development of comprehensive cooperation with Southeast Asia.
ASEAN is the most significant association in Asia, a major global hub of manufacturing and trade, as well as one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in the world, seeking to deepen ties and capture an even greater share of global trade. Ukraine is a stable partner whose market and knowledge present noteworthy opportunities for ASEAN countries and shares the same values of peace, amity, and security.
Therefore, boosting relations with the countries of ASEAN is one of the key elements of Ukrainian foreign policy. In accordance with the Foreign Policy Strategy of Ukraine, which aims to implement joint projects and institutionalize relations with ASEAN, Ukraine continues to develop mutually beneficial relations with the association.
Since 2013, Ukraine has been represented within the association by the Ambassador of Ukraine to ASEAN. For the past decade, the Ambassadors of Ukraine to ASEAN and its member states have been working on bringing Ukraine closer to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Since the development of relations with ASEAN is one of the main objectives of Ukrainian diplomatic efforts in the region, the question of deepening relations with ASEAN has been constantly discussed during bilateral meetings with representatives of ASEAN member states.
In August 2021, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) granted Observer status to the Parliament of Ukraine. Following this, delegations of the Parliament of Ukraine participated in the 43rd General Assembly in November 2022 and the 44th General Assembly in August 2023 of the AIPA, where they had numerous meetings with ASEAN’s member state parliamentarians and high officials.
In October 2021, the first ASEAN Research Centre in Ukraine was inaugurated by H.E. Mr. Dmytro Kuleba, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, within the Educational and Scientific Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. The Centre’s activities aim at establishing effective interaction between researchers and scientists as well as promoting humanitarian, educational, and interpersonal contacts between Ukraine and ASEAN member states.
With the accession of my country to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia in November 2022 in Phnom Penh (the Kingdom of Cambodia), which was ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament on 21 December 2023, Ukraine and ASEAN have received a legal framework for maintaining and strengthening regular political, economic, cultural, and humanitarian contacts and the development of mutually beneficial projects.
Ukraine aims to deepen practical interaction with ASEAN, which is becoming an increasingly important player in the world. In particular, we are interested in obtaining the status of Sectoral Dialogue Partner in accordance with Article 44 of the ASEAN Charter. The Chairmanship of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in ASEAN in 2024 can become a good opportunity to achieve this goal. Ukraine is grateful for ASEAN’s respect for the sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, reaffirmed by ASEAN Foreign Ministers during their meeting in Luang Prabang in January 2024.
Aiming to further strengthen cooperation with ASEAN, Ukraine has decided to proceed with deepening its relationship with ASEAN by becoming the association’s Sectoral Dialogue Partner. The official letter of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, containing a respective official request from the Ukrainian Side, has been presented to the Lao Chairmanship and the Secretary-General of ASEAN for its most careful consideration by the member states of this very respectable international organization whose influence has been growing far beyond the region.
Ukraine looks forward to further expanding cooperation with the region and acquiring the status of a Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN, particularly in areas of food security and digitalization, and we are eager to start exchanging views on this as soon as possible. Other possible areas of cooperation include trade, energy, disaster management, demining, social, and cultural interaction. Ukraine is committed to bilateral and multilateral cooperation within ASEAN for the prosperity of all parties involved.
By: Orel Pavlo, the Charge d’Affaires for the Embassy of Ukraine in Thailand