Official Welcoming Ceremony at administration of President of Ukraine
30th June, 2010
The second day marked the highest point of the visit when President Mahinada Rajapaksa met with H.E. Viktor Yanukovych the President of the Republic of Ukraine. President Rajapaksa was escorted to the official residence of the President of the Republic of Ukraine with a Guarded Motorcade. Upon arrival in front of the palace, the Ukrainian leader warmly welcomed President Rajapaksa opening the door of the car of the Sri Lankan leader. National songs of both the countries were sung after which the two leaders inspected the special military parade conducted by the Ukraine defense forces in honor of the visiting head of the state.
The leading Ukrainian officials were introduced to the Sri Lankan President by the Ukraine President while President Rajapaksa introduced the Sri Lankan delegation to the Ukraine leader. The two leaders held one to one discussions at the official residence. Matters relating politics, economy and culture were keenly discussed. The President also briefed the HE Yanukovych on the developments in Sri Lanka including the massive development drive and the process of resettlement in the North and East. President Yanukovych reiterated his countries unconditional support towards Sri Lanka in every frontier.
During the bilateral talks agreement was reached especially on Ukraine’s support to develop the areas which were affected by the LTTE terrorism during the last few decades and for oil exploration in Sri Lanka. Further President Rajapaksa was successful in arriving at an agreement with President Viktor Yanukovich for obtaining Ukraine’s assistance in building Hydro Electric Power Stations in Sri Lanka.
Details of the new facilities and opportunities available for Sri Lankan students to study in Ukraine were provided by the Ukraine government and we were informed that for the first time Scholarships could be offered for Sri Lankan students to study at medical schools in Ukraine. During these discussions agreement was also reached to assist in repairing aviation and military equipments of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and to provide training opportunities for military officials of Sri Lanka in Ukraine.
Several bilateral Agreements were signed between Sri Lanka and Ukraine during the visit. The Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Tourism. The Agreement in the Field of Military and Technical Cooperation and the Agreement on Mutual Protection of Classified Information.
Both presidents while appreciating the rapid increase in the percentage of Ukraine tourists’ arrival in Sri Lanka stressed the importance of promoting in our countries the cultural aspects of Ukraine and Sri Lanka during the years 2011/2012. Further, it was discussed for a special delegation to visit Sri Lanka in the near future to study new projects in the Tourism industry in Sri Lanka and to initiate flights between Kiev, the capital of Ukraine and Colombo. President Yanukovich gave immediate instructions to the Minister of Transport of Ukraine to take necessary steps towards this process. I believe that the Air flights between Sri Lanka and Ukraine will commence in the very near future in fulfillment of these discussions.
Ukraine expressed interest to provide troller boats and deep freezers that are necessary to increase the productivity of Sri Lanka’s fisheries industry while it was agreed between the parties to further develop the economic relations between Sri Lanka and Ukraine. As a result, an Agreement is expected to be signed between our countries on Maritime Merchant Shipping in the near future.
Brief History of Sri Lanka Ukraine relations
The diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Ukraine goes back to the establishment of formal relations between Sri Lanka and the former USSR in 1955. Sri Lanka has maintained diplomatic relations with Ukraine during the period of USSR (since Ukraine represented itself as an independent country in the multinational organizations). Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was a founder member of UN and an elected member of UN Security Council, in 1948-1949 just after the Second World War. After the dissolution of the USSR, Sri Lanka entered into an agreement with Ukraine “Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Government of Ukraine” in 1993 leading to establishment of formal bilateral relations between the two countries. On the 12th of February 1993, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka recognized the Independence of Ukraine with the simultaneous establishment of the diplomatic relations. Bilateral relations between the two countries have been very cordial and an excellent relationship has been maintained between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Ministry of External Affairs of Sri Lanka.
