PEOPLE & EVENTS

Ukraine supports
Korea's satellite
programs

Ambassador and Mrs. Vasyl Marmazov of the Republic of Ukraine hosted a reception at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul on Sept. 25, 2013 to celebrate the National Day of Ukraine.

There were many distinguished guests from Korean society and from the Seoul Diplomatic Corps and other segments of foreign community in Korea.

Among the Korean guests in attendance were Director Ha Tae-Youk of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) for European Affairs Bureau, Vice Presidents Rep. Hong Young-Pyo of the Korea-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Association at the National Assembly (KUPFA at NA) and Rep. Ahn Duck Soo of KUPFA at NA); and President Ms. Shim Sil of Korean-Ukrainian Cultural Centre.

Attendance from the SDC and other segments of foreign community was also very large, who included 30 heads of diplomatic missions. Among them were Ambassadors Natallia I. Zhylevich of Belarus, Konstantin V. Vnukov of the Russian Federation, Dusan Bella of Slovakia, Nikoloz Apkhazava of Georgia and Dulat Bakishev of Kazakhstan.

Ukraine and Korea are cooperating with each other much more than is generally known among the ordinary people in Korea. For instance, the two countries actively cooperated in science and technology sphere and recent positive example of such cooperation is the successful launching in collaboration with the Russian Federation of the rocket carrier “Dnipro” which put in orbit the Korean satellite Arirang-5 (KompSat-5) on Aug. 22, 2013.

Speaking to the guests, Ambassador Vasyl Marmzov of Ukraine also said: “Since gaining the independence Ukraine has been developing mutually beneficial and effective partnership with the Republic of Korea. During the years of cooperation two countries have established a number of institutional mechanisms that play an important role in expanding our relations.”

Excerpts from his speech follow:
It gives me great pleasure and privilege to address this honorable gathering. I extend to all of you a very warm welcome this evening and thank you for the opportunity to share with you our celebration of the 22nd Anniversary of the Independence of Ukraine.

22 years of our life as a sovereign nation seems to be a very short period of time in historical terms. But for Ukraine these decades marked the beginning of modern history.

Our young country passed a difficult path of development. There were achievements and losses on it, but most importantly, we clearly defined where and why we move. Our goal is a strong democratic state with an absolute ensuring of the rights and freedoms of its citizens.

At present, the Republic of Korea is the very important trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region for Ukraine.

Bilateral trade turnover between Ukraine and the Republic of Korea has been increasing steadily. Thus, in 2011, it increased by 52 %, compared with 2010, in 2012 ? by 19 % .

This year`s bilateral trade turnover is expected to increase similarly.

Among Asian countries, the Republic of Korea remains also one of the leading investors in Ukraine.

Ukraine and Korea actively cooperate in science and technology sphere. Recent positive example of such cooperation is the successful launch in collaboration with the Russian Federation of the rocket carrier “Dnipro” which put in orbit the Korean satellite KompSat-5 (Arirang-5) on August 22, 2013.

This year is marked for Ukraine by its chairmanship in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The OSCE traces its origins in early 1970s, when the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) was created to serve as a multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation on politico-military, economic and environmental and human rights issues that became central to the so-called “Helsinki process”.

It is worth to note that the number of tasks that Ukraine indicated as priorities for its chairmanship in the OSCE have been already implemented.

In this regard we appreciate the participation of the Korean youth delegations in the OSCE Children and Youth Summit in International Children’s Centre “Artek” (Crimea). It is pleased to note that Korean children, who are present in this hall now, visited “Artek” Center for first time in the modern history of relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Korea.

Ukraine supports the trust building process in Northeast Asia, put forth by the President of the Republic of Korea aiming at creating in the region of “Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperative Initiative” -- the process that is similar to the Helsinki process. And we are ready for full-fledged interaction with the Korean government in this matter.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the Ukrainian-Korean cooperation has very good prospects. In this context it should be noted that two days ago foreign ministers of Ukraine and Korea held successful negotiations within the framework UN General Assembly session. In early October Speaker of National Assembly of the Republic of Korea will pay an official visit to Ukraine.

Taking this opportunity I would like to express our appreciation to Daewoo International, Hyundai Rotem and Samchully for valuable support in organizing this event as well as a great interest in cooperation with Ukraine.

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