Dear friends!

Minister of Immigrant Absorption of the State of Israel Sofa Landver, Honorary Consul of the State of Israel in Western region of Ukraine Oleg Vyshniakov

Honorary Consul of the State of Israel in Western region of Ukraine Oleg Vyshniakov, Minister of Immigrant Absorption of the State of Israel Sofa Landver

 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Ukraine Eliav Belotserkovsky

On these days we are celebrating an important date - 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the State of Israel.

Yesterday, under the patronage of the Honorary Consulate of Israel and deputy group of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the interparliamentary relations with the State of Israel a reception in honor of this significant event was held. I am very pleased that the reception has been attended by influential guests, who represent both countries: Minister of Immigrant Absorption of the State of Israel Sofa Landver, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to Ukraine Eliav Belotserkovsky, co-chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the interparliamentary relations with the State of Israel Georgiy Logvinskiy, diplomats, representatives of legislative and executive authorities, members of the business community, representatives of cultural sphere, religious figures.

The State of Israel was one of the first who supported the creation of an independent Ukraine, and established diplomatic relations with it. The Ukrainian Republic was one of the members of the UN General Assembly which voted for the creation of Israel in 1948.

Our two nations share many common pages of history. As you know, a lot of immigrants from Ukraine were taking part in the creation and development of the State of Israel, held the posts of prime ministers, presidents, actively contributed to the development of culture, economy, and political image of the country. Unfortunately, there are not only happy, but also bloody pages, such as the Holocaust of the Jewish people - this year we will mark the tragic anniversary of the events in Babiy Yar: exactly 75 years ago, tens of thousands of Jews were shot in Kyiv.

As Ms. Landver said, despite the fact that these terrible events have left a deep scar on the face of history, our peoples have been close, friendly and loved each other for a quarter of a century. “Israel has emerged as a miracle created in the desert, thanks to the power of spirit of people who believed in a general idea. Ukraine as well as Israel will prosper and live in peace thanks to the patriots who believe in this country. In Israel, there are no natural resources, but there are people and technology they create. In Ukraine, there is such a fertile soil and people, so along with the Israeli technology it is possible to feed half of the world,” that what Sofa Landver said about the relations between Ukraine and Israel.

I have told many times that today Israelis like no other in the world understand the Ukrainian people, which as well as the citizens of Israel, defends its independence with arms and sees off the husbands, sons, fathers to the war. The words of the Israeli guests have confirmed it once again. Each of the speakers spoke of peace, well-being, stable development and cooperation between our countries. Israelis have once again proved that they are ready to share all their experience in the issues of development of the state and existence under conditions of war with Ukraine.

Over the past few years, bilateral relations between our countries are developing rapidly, thanks to the abolition of visa regime. This is evidenced by the business activity between Ukraine and Israel, and an increase in tourist flow. In my opinion, it is the willingness of Israel to open its border for Ukrainians that has become the catalyst for the beginning of negotiations on visa-free regime with the EU.

To date, one of the most pressing issues of further development of relations between Ukraine and Israel is the signing of Free trade agreement. I am confident that by collaborative work of everyone who supports the development of bilateral relations between our countries, this process will be completed as soon as possible.

I was very pleased to see so many politicians, diplomats, public figures, who are not indifferent to the relation issue between Ukraine and Israel. I would like to thank not only those who attended yesterday's reception, but also those who have been developing and maintaining truly friendly relations between Ukraine and Israel for a quarter of a century. I firmly believe that both Ukrainian and Israeli peoples will be able to cope with all the difficulties and problems, and the relations between our countries will only grow stronger from year to year.