Oleksandr Korniienko: Cultural diplomacy is one of the main directions for building relations with African countries

Prece Service
17 November 2022, 17:48


The First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko emphasized this during a working meeting with the President of the Ukrainian Association in Republic of South Africa Dzvenyslava Kachur and the Head of international advocacy and communications projects in the Sub-Saharan Africa region (South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya) Oksana Sikora.

They discussed, in particular, the development of relations with African countries, raising awareness of African society about Ukraine as a state, as well as Ukraine’s position in the unprovoked war of russia against our country.

First of all, Oleksandr Korniienko noted that during these nine months of full-scale war Ukraine has realized the importance of support: “It is not only about Western countries, which we are certainly grateful to. But also about the countries of the Global South, in particular, Africa, countries that have been under the influence of russian propaganda for many years, and for which Ukraine is still a little-known country.”

“We actually have to get acquainted now, to tell who we are, what is the mentality of our nation, its identity, what are our views and cultural values,” the First Vice Speaker noted. He added that this is the only way to have a more open dialogue about the war and all the tragic events that the russian federation brought to Ukraine, and its consequences for global security, especially, food security.

“I am pleased that we have the support of civil society in this educational mission!” the First Deputy Chairman of the Parliament emphasized.

In conclusion, Oleksandr Korniienko stressed that after recent visits to African countries and being personally at the Head of the delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the areas which it is possible to specialize in concerning relations between Ukraine and Africa have become clearer: “And this is another valuable window of opportunity for our country”.

It should be recalled that on October 10-14, 2022, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko was on a working visit to Africa, where he took part in the 145th meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) together with the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation in Kigali, Rwanda. He also held numerous working meetings and took part in the side events of the Assembly. At the same time, on October 14 during his visit the first official meeting at the level of the parliaments of Ukraine and Mozambique took place.