The Treaty was signed by Datuk Haji Wan Ahmad Dahlan bin Haji Abdul Aziz Secretary-General of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Malaysia and His Excellency Olexander Nechytaylo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Malaysia during a ceremony that took place in Putrajaya.

Ukraine became the first country, with which Malaysia concluded the Treaty on the international transfer of prisoners (ITOP). Malaysia is also the first ASEAN country that Ukraine will have a bilateral ITOP programme.

This agreement completes formation of the comprehensive legal framework for efficient cooperation between the law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities of Ukraine and Malaysia. In 2016 both countries already signed two other important bilateral agreements in the field of judicial and criminal matters, namely: the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and the Treaty on Extradition.

According to Ambassador Nechytaylo, “today`s event wouldn`t be possible without dedicated work of the negotiating teams”. “I would like to express sincere appreciation to the representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Malaysia, Prison Department, Attorney General Chambers, and Wisma Putra for their efforts and commitment, - said Nechytaylo during the ceremony.

Ukraine is one of 66 countries that ratified the 1983 Convention on the Transfer of Convicted Persons. In addition, Ukraine has 13 bilateral international treaties on ITOP with other countries, including China and Iran.