An interagency coordination meeting on expanding Ukraine’s presence on the African continent was held under the chairmanship of Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as representatives of the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Foreign Intelligence Service, and the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, along with experts on the African continent.
Among other issues, participants discussed the current state of relations between Ukraine and African countries and the prospects for their development. Representatives of relevant ministries delivered reports, and tasks were set to intensify Ukraine’s activities in specific African countries. The Head of the Office of the President emphasized that in previous years, Ukrainian specialists from various fields had been insufficiently engaged in advancing Ukraine’s interests in this part of the world.
The meeting also included a presentation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ strategic vision for developing Ukraine’s relations with African states.
Participants identified a list of priority countries on the African continent (the Maghreb region and Sub-Saharan Africa), as well as states, international organizations, and regional groupings whose financial mechanisms could be used to advance Ukraine’s interests on the continent.
“For the first time, Ukraine has set itself the goal of comprehensively influencing the situation on the African continent and protecting its national interests in this part of the world. Ukraine must reinforce its status as a competitive and influential geopolitical actor, assert its agency worldwide, and thereby advance its economic, security, and other interests in every part of the globe,” Kyrylo Budanov stated.
Following the meeting, participants approved a draft action plan to implement the adopted decisions and recommended submitting it to the Cabinet of Ministers for consideration. Relevant ministries and agencies will then be tasked with ensuring the proper and timely implementation of the plan.
