The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has created a new inter-factional association responsible for cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean. In this way, Ukraine is strengthening its cooperation with the region, in parallel with the work already underway at the level of the President of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers. This was stated by the MP, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation Arsenii Pushkarenko.
“The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are extremely important to us as part of the Global South. Unfortunately, over the past 30 years, cooperation with the countries of this region has been sporadic. Only last year, the President Volodymyr Zelenskyi visited Latin America, renewing relations. A powerful government delegation has also recently returned from the region. In general, Latin American and Caribbean states are largely supportive of Ukraine and the principles of international law. This is reflected in the UN voting, where only a few states friendly to russia do not support Ukraine,” the politician noted.
According to him, the countries of this region are developing dynamically, there are a lot of young people there and significant socio-economic growth is expected in the next 30-50 years.
“We are interested in cooperation with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the inter-parliamentary format will allow us to deepen and expand the work already underway at the level of the President and the government. The post-colonial past of the countries of this region resonates with the challenges we face today. I am confident that our proactive stance will allow us to intercept russia's political dominance in this region and will give us the opportunity to get closer to these countries on the political, economic, cultural and humanitarian levels,” the MP said.
He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has recently presented a communication strategy for working with Latin America and the Caribbean.
“A large delegation of journalists from the CELAC region is currently visiting Ukraine, and they are scheduled to meet at various levels. It is important for us to reach out to politicians and society in the region through all possible platforms so that they take part in the settlement of the russian-Ukrainian war, the Global Peace Summit, and the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula,” the MP concluded.