THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE
PRESS SECRETARY OF THE CHAIRMAN OF VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE
Information for mass media
30 September 2008
Arseniy Yatseniuk, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, regards the visit of His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden to Ukraine as crucial in the relations between the countries.
The Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine underscored that Sweden "is our real ally as regards European integration". He also stated that "there is powerful economic integration" between the countries, apart from the political aspect. According to Arseniy Yatseniuk, at present approximately 4 per cent of the total amount of foreign investments in Ukraine is Swedish. Head of Ukrainian Parliament commented on problems common for both States. Inter alia, he dwelled upon energy safety and restoration power engineering.
In the course of the meeting, King Carl XVI Gustaf demonstrated considerable interest for Ukrainian issues and its domestic political situation. He regards it as "rather critical".
The Parties discussed distribution of political forces in the parliament, and possibility of formation of the coalition. They also discussed a wide range of issues that constitute mutual interest for Ukraine and Sweden.