As Ukrainians around the world celebrate the 24th anniversary of Ukraine’s renewed independence today, August 24, 2015, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Nigeria, Valerii Aleksandruk, has declared his country’s support to Nigeria’s government fight against Boko Haram insurgency.
Speaking ahead of today’s anniversary, the ambassador said: “I am pleased to be appointed as ambassador to the very important country that plays key role not only in the region of Western Africa but in the entire African continent.
“Ukraine pays special attention to the development relations with Nigeria. As the Ukrainian Ambassador, I always do my best to promote our relations to the level never seen before. I see a good sign in that my mission starts in such important time for Nigeria that will probably give new impetus to our relations. We have a good chance to open a new page in our relations.
“It is a pleasure to note that Ukraine and Nigeria enjoy fruitful cooperation within the framework of international organizations. Ukraine considers Nigeria an important partner, especially in the area of trade and investments.
“Our relationship has developed quite well in recent years. In the economic field, Nigeria is already the first commercial partner of Ukraine in Sub-Sahara Africa.
President Muhammadu Buhari, left, and Ambassador Valerii Aleksandruk
“We believe that there are lots of areas where we can deepen our relations and develop them further, such as in the areas of agriculture, mining, renewable energy, infrastructure, where Ukrainian companies have great expertise.
“The presence of several Ukrainian companies in Nigeria is a testimony to the level of confidence my government had in Nigeria. We are very pleased to see that more and more Ukrainian companies are looking into new opportunities in Nigeria. Ukraine is encouraging more of its companies to come into Nigeria and invest as well as establish partnerships with Nigerian companies.
“We are planning to establish a joint commission with Nigeria and it will cover the whole range of political, economic and security areas. There are many areas in which we can move further and deepen our very close cooperation.”
President Petro Poroshenko
On how the Ukrainian government plans to assist the Nigerian government in its fight against Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria, Mr Aleksandruk stated that: “We are interested in developing cooperation with Nigeria in the military sphere.
“We are sure that providing a legal base of such cooperation, notably the signing of the Agreement on Military Cooperation between the Defense Ministries of both States, will allow us to further develop mutually beneficial ties.
“The Government of Ukraine strongly condemns the acts of terror committed by Boko Haram terrorists and stands firmly with Nigeria in its fight against this evil.
“Peaceful presidential election and transfer of power are enormous achievements for Nigeria and for the democratic development in Africa. The people of Nigeria have expressed its confidence in the President. Nigerians voted for the changes and we welcome these changes in Ukraine.
“The challenges Nigeria faces are enormous and I wish President M.Buhari and all Nigerians every success in building prosperous and peaceful country.”Ukraine is one of the largest exporters of military equipment in the world and also modernise and repair the different kinds of military production.
The city of Kharkiv is not only the capital of tank-building, but a place where the most powerful tractor-plant in Europe is situated.
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