A Ukrainian parliamentary delegation headed by the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko visited the U.S. Navy Regional Headquarters in Bahrain and met with the Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), U.S. Fifth Fleet and the Joint Naval Forces.
In particular, the Ukrainian delegates took part in a briefing on regional cooperation in maritime security and the integration of unmanned technologies.
“We had the opportunity to learn about the latest efforts of NAVCENT to integrate advanced unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into regional maritime operations,” said Oleksandr Korniienko.
NAVCENT is reportedly leading the largest naval exercise in the Middle East, International Maritime Exercise 2023. The US Fifth Fleet’s area of operations covers approximately 2.5 million square miles of water: The Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean, and three critical points in the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal, and Bab el Mandeb.
During the meeting, the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation also handed over to the U.S. Navy a children’s drawing made as part of the all-Ukrainian flash mob “Children of Ukraine for Peace” organised by the Educational Centre of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
For reference. On 11-15 March 2023, the delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine takes part in the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (Manama, Bahrain).
The delegation includes members of the Ukrainian Parliament: the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation Oleksandr Merezhko, the member of the Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management Lesia Vasylenko, the member of the Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy Aliona Shkrum, the member of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation Olha Rudenko, member of the Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy Artur Herasymov, the Head of the Subcommittee on Anti-Corruption Policy in the Field of Digital Innovations and Public Data of the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy Oleksii Zhmerenetskyi and the Member of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy Oleksandr Sanchenko.
