News:
Ambassador Wendy Hinton made an accreditation visit to Ukraine from 13-15 February. While the icy conditions underfoot in Kyiv made for some perilous moments, the welcome extended to New Zealand remained as warm as ever. A positive sign of the country’s economic growth were the new trendy cafes and shops which had opened over the past few months. A good latte is now readily available in Kyiv!
Ambassador Hinton had working meetings with Vice Prime Ministers Stepan Kubiv and Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Kutovyi, Acting Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Ukrainian Parliament Hanna Hopko, government officials and representatives of international organisations based in Kyiv. She also met with diplomatic colleagues including at a 5 Eyes dinner hosted by the British ambassador.
Topics covered ranged from the situation in eastern Ukraine, including prospects for Minsk Agreements’ implementation, to the messaging being received from the Trump Administration to the bilateral relationship and prospects for enhanced cooperation. Ukraine's progress on reform and anti-corruption and the first year’s results of the EU–Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive FTA (DCFTA) were also canvassed.
A strong theme for the visit was Ukraine’s appreciation of the good cooperation between New Zealand and Ukraine in multilateral forums, in particular during our overlapping terms as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.
First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Stepan Kubiv, underlined Ukraine's interest in learning from New Zealand's strong experience in structural reform and deregulation.
This year (3 March), New Zealand and Ukraine celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between us.