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Ahead of his visit to India, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday that Kyiv views New Delhi as an "important global partner" with a "powerful international voice".
The Ukrainian FM expressed hope that his visit will further develop India-Ukraine ties. Addressing an online briefing ahead of the visit on Wednesday, Kuleba said, "I have already announced I would be visiting New Delhi on the invitation of my New Delhi counterpart, S Jaishankar. This would be my first visit to India and the first visit by a Ukrainian Foreign Minister to the country in seven years. The aim is to strengthen India-Ukraine relationship." He also highlighted the recent conversation between PM Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, during which the two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation, trade and the upcoming Global Peace Summit. "My visit will help put the agreements into action and further develop our ties. Ukraine sees India as an important global power with a powerful international voice. We are confident that close cooperation will benefit both our nations. During my visit, a number of talks are planned including with the Foreign Ministers, as well as a session of the Ukraine-India inter-governmental commission," he said. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will embark on a two-day visit to India during which he will discuss bilateral ties as well as cooperation on regional and global issues of mutual interest. He will arrive in India on Thursday. He is visiting India at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. During the briefing, Kuleba further said that another important issue that will be discussed during the visit is 'air defence'. "The more important issue...or the most important issue, would be air defence. Russia escalated its air terror against Ukraine. It has launched 190 missiles of various types against Ukraine, 400 Shahed drones and 700 guided bombs in just one week," the Ukrainian FM said. He added, "These strikes targeted energy facilities including critical infrastructure and civilians resulting in significant casualties and damages as well as power outages in entire cities. Ukraine urgently requires more air defence and interceptors, particularly patriots and other systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles." The Ukrainian FM also said that Kyiv would welcome New Delhi's role in the reconstruction of Ukraine. "India is welcome to cooperate, engage with Ukraine on economic projects now and of course engage with India on re-construction of Ukraine," FM Kuleba said, in response to a question. During his visit, Foreign Minister Kuleba will have a number of engagements, including official meetings with the External Affairs Minister and Deputy NSA to discuss matters pertaining to the bilateral partnership and cooperation on regional and global issues of mutual interest. Kuleba is also expected to interact with the business community, the Ministry of External Affairs press release said. The visit comes days after a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During their conversation on March 20, the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen India-Ukraine partnership in various spheres. While discussing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi reiterated India's people-centric approach and called for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward. He highlighted that India supports all efforts for an early and peaceful resolution of all issues between the parties. He added that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution. President Zelenskyy appreciated India's continued humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine.PM Modi also had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 20 and congratulated him on his re-election. While discussing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi reiterated India's consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward. (ANI)
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