KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 (Bernama) — Ukraine has outlined seven areas as its priorities to enhance trade cooperation with ASEAN countries.
Charge d’ Affaires at the Ukrainian Embassy in Malaysia Denys Mykhailiuk stated these priority areas are food and agriculture, digitalisation, trade, energy, disaster management, demining as well as social and cultural cooperation.
“Over recent years, there has been a discernible increase in cooperation between Ukraine and ASEAN member states, driven by high-level dialogues and robust parliamentary connections.
“Looking ahead, Ukraine aims to deepen its engagement with ASEAN, unlocking the full potential of their relationship for the benefit of present and future generations,” he told a news conference after a media briefing on the Ukraine-ASEAN: Vision of Cooperation document, here on Wednesday.
The document, launched by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry last month, focussed on its vision to bolster its relationship with ASEAN.
Commenting further, Mykhailiuk said Ukraine sees the future of ASEAN and projects that integration will continue to grow.
He said Ukraine-ASEAN total bilateral trade amounted US$1.85 billion in 2023 and it hoped that by 2025, the value would reach between US$4 billion to US$ billion.
“ASEAN according to our opinion, will be the centre of growth of the world economy for the next 25 to 30 years,” he said.
He said under the vision, Ukraine hoped that in the first stage, it would become a sustainable supplier of food, mainly grains and sunflower oil to ASEAN, while in the second stage, it aims to enter into the high-end technological markets like IT, aviation, and space industry.
He added that there is no need to enter into bilateral agreements with all ASEAN member states, hoping that soon the cooperation will allow “entry in one market will mean the entry in the markets of all the countries”.
Ukraine has formally acceded to the ASEAN Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia in 2022.
— BERNAMA
