Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv today during his visit to the country. The Joint Statement released after the meeting informed that during the discussion at Maryinskyi Palace, the Prime Minister reiterated the need for sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will have broad acceptability and contribute towards early restoration of peace. He also reiterated India’s willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate an early return of peace.
PM Modi’s visit was the first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine, since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in the year 1992. On the occasion, both leaders expressed mutual interest in working towards elevating bilateral relations from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership in the future.
The discussions on the entire spectrum of bilateral ties and exchange of views on regional and global issues of shared interest reflected the depth as well as mutual understanding and trust that mark India-Ukraine relations, the joint statement said.
Underlining the importance of defence cooperation between India and Ukraine, the Leaders agreed to continue to work towards facilitating a stronger relationship between the defence entities in both countries, including through joint collaborations and partnerships for manufacturing in India and cooperation in emerging areas. The statement also said that both sides agreed to hold the 2nd meeting of the Indian-Ukrainian Joint Working Group on Military-Technical Cooperation, established under the 2012 Defence Cooperation Agreement, in the near future in India.
The documents signed during the visit of Prime Minister to Ukraine are:
– Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Ukraine on cooperation in the fields of Agriculture and Food Industry. This will expand mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of agriculture and food industry by promoting ties in areas of information exchange, joint scientific research, exchange of experience, cooperation in agricultural research, creation of joint working groups etc.
– Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control on cooperation in the field of Medical Products regulation. This envisages cooperation on medical products including regulation, improvement of safety and quality aspects, mainly through information exchange, capacity building, workshops, training, and exchanges of visits.
– Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of the Republic of India and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects. This MoU creates the framework for India to provide grant assistance for community development projects in Ukraine. Projects under the HICDP will be undertaken in partnership with the Government of Ukraine for the benefit of the people of Ukraine.
– Programme of Cultural Cooperation between the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine for the years 2024-2028. This aims to strengthen cultural cooperation between India and Ukraine including the promotion of cultural exchanges and cooperation in the fields of theatre, music, fine arts, literature, library and museum affairs, as well as protection and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
