Ukraine and Afghanistan usher in new era of bilateral ties

Afghan Ambassador to the Ukraine Wali Monawar on Monday met with Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister, Oleh Urusky where the two officials agreed there is significant potential for the two countries to strengthen bilateral relations and trade.

“Ukraine is ready to deepen relations with Afghanistan. There are political will and significant potential for cooperation. Of course, the current level of trade between the countries is insufficient. We must set more ambitious goals and achieve higher rates of cooperation,” Urusky said, as quoted in a statement issued by the Ukrainian government.

The parties discussed the current state of relations between the countries and prospects for their future development while emphasis was put on the need to deepen bilateral cooperation and increase trade between the two nations.

Monawar meanwhile said the leadership of both Afghanistan and Ukraine have a mutual interest in the development of economic relations in various areas.

“Afghanistan would like to open a new page in cooperation between the countries. Currently, important areas of bilateral cooperation are education, energy, and military-technical field,” Monawar said.

He also stressed that the trade between the countries needs to increase, which is a priority for him as ambassador.

Urusky said: “Our team is ready to promote the development of bilateral relations between the two countries. Reaching agreements within the Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a good sign. At the same time, we expect that the establishment of the Export Credit Agency, which the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine is currently working on, will further contribute to the deepening of bilateral cooperation.”

During the talks, the participants agreed on the need to organize bilateral working visits of relevant delegations to identify specific areas of Ukraine-Afghanistan cooperation.