On March 27, 2012 the Ambassador of Ukraine to Malaysia H.E. Mr. Ihor V. Humennyi on the invitation of the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia delivered a lecture on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Malaysia. The Ambassador also took part in the roundtable discussion “The strengthening of bilateral relationship between Ukraine and Malaysia as a part of the foreign policy of Ukraine in South-East Asia”, which was arranged by the Institute for the first time with the participation of the Head of the Foreign Diplomatic Mission in Malaysia.
During the lecture the Ambassador informed the audience about the history of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the countries of South-East Asia as well as main directions of the Ukrainian foreign policy in this region.
In this context the information was provided on the development of the Ukrainian-Malaysian political dialogue and trade and economic cooperation. The Ambassador stressed that Ukraine is Malaysia‘s largest trading partner after Russia among the countries of Eastern Europe and the CIS. In this regard the concrete directions for the development of trade and economic cooperation were specified, which requires the greater activity of the Ukrainian partners in the Malaysian market as well as the Malaysian investments in the development of the energy and others sectors of the economy of Ukraine. The audience was also informed on the effective scientific and technical potential of Ukraine and its capabilities in the development of cooperation, in particular, in the spheres of energy, aviation, shipbuilding and agriculture. In addition, H.E. Mr. Ihor V. Humennyi noted the far-reaching opportunities for the development of cooperation in education and tourism.
The lecture of the Ambassador attracted high interest of the participants, including the undergraduates of the MA course, professors of the Institute, as well as the representatives of the leading educational institutions and the MFA of Malaysia. The active questions-answers session took place after the lecture in the framework of the roundtable discussion, during which the Ambassador provided detailed information on the European integration of Ukraine and its relations with the neighbouring countries, as well as on the steps that are planned by the Embassy to foster the Ukrainian-Malaysian bilateral cooperation.
In the framework of this event the Ambassador had the meeting with the Director General of the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, during which the perspectives for further development of cooperation with this establishment have been determined.