Embassy of Ireland opens in Ukraine

As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine informs, the opening ceremony participants noted that the establishment of the first-ever Irish diplomatic mission in Kyiv would bring bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level.

"The opening of the Embassy of Ireland in Kyiv creates additional opportunities for the development of trade cooperation between our countries and will undoubtedly contribute to the intensification of bilateral cooperation in many areas, including IT sector, investment, and education. Minister Dmytro Kuleba highlighted these cooperation priorities during a bilateral meeting with his Irish counterpart on the sidelines of the inaugural summit of the Crimea Platform," Senik said.

He also drew attention to the successful activities of the Irish companies CRH and Ryanair in Ukraine and expressed hope for further expansion of business cooperation between the two countries.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland Simon Coveney noted that the opening of the embassy in Kyiv was an important milestone in the development of bilateral cooperation and part of #GlobalIreland strategy to expand Ireland's presence in the world.

Diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Ireland were established on April 1, 1992. The Embassy of Ukraine in Ireland opened in August 2003.

On August 19, 2021, Ambassador of Ireland to Ukraine with residence in Kyiv Teresa Gili presented her credentials to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (before that, Ambassador of Ireland to the Czech Republic was accredited to Ukraine concurrently).

The official opening of the Embassy of Ireland in Kyiv took place on August 23, 2021, during the visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland Simon Coveney to participate in the inaugural summit of the Crimea Platform.

According to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, in 2020, Ukraine–Ireland total trade in goods and services amounted to $677 million (0.8% of total trade in goods and services between Ukraine and EU member states). In the first quarter of 2021, Ukraine–Ireland trade decreased by 15.8% compared to the first quarter of 2020 and amounted to $176.5 million.

The main areas of trade and economic cooperation are agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food industry and food products, instrument manufacture, etc. In the field of services, the main volumes of trade account for transport, computer, and telecommunications.

Photo credit: mfa.gov.ua

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