President receives credentials from new ambassadors of Germany, France, Canada, Korea

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Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has received credentials from the newly appointed extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors of Germany, France, Canada, and Korea.

The president received credentials from Hans-Jurgen Heimsoeth of Germany, Jacques Faure of France, Daniel Caron of Canada, and Park Ro-Byug of Korea. Following the presentation of credentials, the head of state held short meetings with the newly appointed ambassadors.

During a meeting with the German ambassador, the Ukrainian president discussed Ukrainian-German trade and economic relations and also noted a 20% rise in bilateral trade registered since the beginning of 2008. The sides also focused on the implementation of agreements reached during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent visit to Ukraine, particularly in the context of preparations for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in December. Yushchenko and Heimsoeth also stressed the importance of improving the situation with the registration of visas for Ukrainian citizens.

During a meeting with the French ambassador, major attention was paid to preparations for the Ukraine-EU Summit to be held in Evian on September 9. Faure pointed to the confidence of French President Nicolas Sarkozy that Ukrainian-French relations are of strategic importance. Therefore, the mission of the French ambassador is to bring bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level. He also quoted Sarkozy as saying that Ukraine is a European state in all of its dimensions and said that an exhibition of a bronze sculpture from the collection of Louis XIV of France would be opened in Kyiv on September 13.

During a meeting with Canadian Ambassador Daniel Caron, the sides discussed the implementation of agreements reached during Yuschenko's state visit to Canada. In particular, they spoke about energy cooperation (a respective memorandum of mutual understanding was signed during the visit). Caron told Yuschenko that Canada had confirmed its support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations and would do everything for the country to join the NATO Membership Action Plan in December.

During a meeting with Korean Ambassador Park Ro-Byug, the president discussed the issues of economic cooperation. In this context, Yushchenko said that Ukraine is interested in reorganizing the Ukrainian-Korean joint trade committee into the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation. He said that such a step would bolster the further deepening of this cooperation.

UKRINFORM