“President Vladimir Zelensky’s visit to Morocco is in the works and is only a matter of time,” said Sergei Sayenko, Ukrainian ambassador in Rabat in a new interview with Hespress AR.
Sayenko, appointed to Morocco last year, says he had “a good discussion with President Zelensky before arriving in Morocco” outlining priorities, confirming “President Vladimir Zelensky’s visit to Morocco is being worked out, it is only a matter of time.”
“Previously, I was dealing with EU and NATO relations. So, I was only dealing with Europe; now it is my first appointment as ambassador in the country, and I am trying to put new dynamics in our relations between Ukraine and Morocco, knowing that Ukraine is part of Europe, and will be the most important part of the future of the European Union, meaning part of the common European economy, common agricultural sector, many other sectors, specific sectors.”
This means that even now in terms of the war, we need to create opportunities between Ukraine and Morocco, as a future member of the European Union, asserts the Ukrainian diplomat.
“The agenda between the EU and Morocco is very impressive. We see now where Ukraine can be useful for Morocco to improve the quality of our relations, where we can see the gaps and how to remove these obstacles, especially in trade, and how we can benefit each other even in international politics.”
Answering questions about his priorities in Rabat, the ambassador said he is glad that both countries have re-established political dialog.
“I recall that our foreign minister visited Morocco last year. During that time together, we presented some views and some key points that we are interested in developing, a set of priorities that we will be able to realize here in Morocco within my current mandate. So, we decided to relaunch this political dialogue to intensify our relations within international organizations, for example in UNESCO, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. I point out that we are not members of the latter; but we will probably have observer status.”
“We would also like to create a new configuration of our trade contacts, how to facilitate trade, how to facilitate the exchange of citizens between Ukraine and Morocco, within the visa regime that brings us together, and how to improve our services in the field of tourism.”
Regarding the Western Sahara, Sayenko reiterated the Ukrainian Foreign Minister’s declaration last year made during the meeting with his Moroccan counterpart, where he concluded that “Ukraine and Morocco recognize the heavy price countries pay for sovereignty and territorial integrity,” saying: “We highly appreciate Morocco’s strong position regarding the territorial integrity of the two countries.”
“Ukraine considers the autonomy plan presented by Morocco in 2007 as a serious and credible basis for resolving the Sahara issue, and supports its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We also encourage and support the efforts of the Security Council and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to resolve this issue as soon as possible, and we support all kinds of initiatives to find an end to this dispute, and perhaps this may materialize in the future and resolve the dispute,” affirmed Sayenko to Hespress AR.
Ukraine fully recognizes the importance of the autonomy plan for Morocco, says the Ambassador, as Ukraine knew the autonomous status of Crimea before the attempts to annex it to Russia.
“We had before that a system of government formation, a parliament, and an ongoing strategy for the development of autonomy.We understand what Morocco wants, we support this endeavor, and this is a matter of discussion, a matter of dialog, and we would like to encourage all parties involved to see and resolve this issue.”
On another topic, namely the issue of Moroccan students in Ukraine, the Ukrainian ambassador to Rabat said it all depends on different universities, noting that before the war, Ukraine had about 10,000 Moroccan students, the second community in Ukraine after India.
But since the conflict’s outbreak, many students have left Ukraine and returned to Morocco or other countries near Ukraine.
Many Moroccan students transferred and are now studying in Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania thanks to university partnerships, said the ambassador.
“What we are trying to do and what we have done is that we have launched a special initiative that allows Moroccan students to continue their studies at a distance, that’s the first point.”
“Secondly, we recall that we were not the only intermediary in this process; but in agreement with the ministries and universities in Morocco, we prepared special points, as I say, for exams, for previous exams, and we see this as the occasion, an opportunity for students in Morocco to pass the exams without moving to Ukraine,” said the Ukrainian representative to Hespress AR.
“So, for students who continue to study in medical specialties, they can take the exams in Morocco, in the universities of Rabat, Casablanca and other centers.”
“I think this is a temporary assistance that we provided for the benefit of the students, and we hope that they will continue their studies in Ukraine and once the war is over they will return to their traditional study format, concluded ambassador Sayenko.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.