In the international arena, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy defends first of all the economic interests of the Ukrainian state. Ukraine is preparing to revise quotas on the supply of products to the European Union under the Association Agreement with the EU. This was stated by Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, the main factor in strengthening trade and economic diplomacy of Ukraine is the involvement of high-class specialists in this work. If Ukraine has the right people in certain ministries, they need to be involved to achieve progress in the international arena. In addition, you should not be afraid to invite such specialists from outside the civil service to work for Ukraine.
"There are many models in the world, the best of them must be applied in practice. I welcome the initiatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen the economization of foreign policy. After all, the priority of President Zelenskyy's foreign policy is the economy," Ihor Zhovkva said.
He noted that the Ukrainian state is preparing to revise quotas on the supply of products to the European Union. According to the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, such an opportunity will appear from 2021.
The Deputy Head of the President's Office added that Ukraine should bring to the European market not only agricultural products, which are already competitive, but also industrial ones.
"Unfortunately, we sometimes face protectionism from the European Union towards our companies, for example, in the field of metallurgy. When we see such protectionist measures, the President responds immediately by raising these issues during talks with EU leaders. In this way, the President defends the interests of the Ukrainian manufacturer in the international arena," Ihor Zhovkva said.
The Deputy Head of the Office of the President added that certain sections of this Agreement are outdated, as negotiations on this document began back in 2008, when trade volumes between Ukraine and the EU were completely different. But our state has an ambitious goal - to fully implement the Association Agreement with the EU by 2025.
"We have always been clear in Brussels about our perspective and our goal. I would like to emphasize once again that European integration is a priority for Ukraine. And, again, not just of foreign policy. Diplomats have already done an important part of their job. Now it is up to our government officials, specialists who should start feeling like in the European Union," he stressed.
In addition, Ihor Zhovkva noted that the result of the persistent work of the Ukrainian authorities on Ukraine's integration into the North Atlantic Alliance is the adoption of NATO's decision last week to include our country in the Enhanced Opportunities Partnership.
According to him, this is the status that Ukraine has long deserved given its practical actions together with the Alliance.
“Why was the decision not made in 2017, when the first positive assessment of Ukraine's ability to become a participant in the Program was announced? I will name only one important reason - corruption in the defense industry of Ukraine at that time, in particular in the field of procurement. And why was the positive decision made during the time of President Zelenskyy? The answer is quite obvious," Ihor Zhovkva said.
At the same time, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President stressed that the annual NATO-Ukraine program has long been concluded in the format of the Alliance Membership Action Plan.