Ukraine's Foreign Minister heads to India, key goal revealed
Photo: Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine's Foreign Minister (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will visit the Republic of India from March 17 to 19 for an official visit. Several meetings and negotiations with his Indian counterpart and other high-ranking officials are scheduled, as well as participation in forums, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in New Delhi, Sybiha will hold bilateral negotiations with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and other high-ranking Indian officials.
"The main goal of the visit will be the minister's participation in one of the largest geopolitical forums in Asia, the Raisina Dialogue," the ministry said.
During the conference, Sybiha will have bilateral meetings with foreign ministers from several countries in South and Southeast Asia and Africa, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sybiha will also visit Mumbai, where he will hold several meetings to expand interregional economic cooperation between Ukraine and India and participate as the guest of honor at a special Ukrainian-Indian business forum.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the key topics of discussions will include advancing towards a just peace in Ukraine and India’s role in this process. Other main issues will be the development of cooperation between Ukraine and India and strengthening Ukraine’s ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
"Additionally, the meetings will focus on expanding Ukraine's diplomatic presence in the South Asia region, increasing trade, and helping Ukrainian exporters access additional Asian markets," the Ministry added.
Last visit of Ukraine's Foreign Minister to India
The last visit of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister to India was almost exactly a year ago, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was headed by Dmytro Kuleba.
At the end of March 2024, then-Foreign Minister Kuleba stated that his visit to New Delhi aimed to strengthen bilateral relations between the countries. During the visit, he held meetings with the Indian Foreign Minister to discuss issues related to bilateral partnership and cooperation on regional and global matters.
After returning to Kyiv from New Delhi, Kuleba informed that Ukraine and India had agreed to restore the level of cooperation between the countries to pre-war levels. He also mentioned that work was underway on organizing a visit by the President of Ukraine to India.
In August of last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ukraine on an official visit and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During his visit, four cooperation agreements between India and Ukraine were signed.
