Surat (Gujarat) [India], May 2 : Ukraine's Ambassador to India Oleksandr Polishchuk said that Ukraine is looking to expand economic cooperation with India, particularly in agriculture, steel, and technology sectors.
Speaking toon Friday on the sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conferences in Surat, Polishchuk highlighted a gradual recovery in bilateral trade following disruptions caused by the ongoing conflict.
He said, "We are actually looking for any opportunity to increase our economic relationship with India. I am quite happy that after the big losses which we had in trade in previous years as a consequence of the war, last year we actually renewed our trade on a level like 1.7 billion. Before the war, it was 3.5 billion."
He said Ukraine sees Gujarat as a key partner region and is actively exploring opportunities for cooperation."And our strategy is, you know, to cooperate in Gujarat because Ukraine is very well known around the world as a big agricultural producer," Polishchuk said. "Products from Ukraine are not only sunflower or grain; we have others which are actually interesting for India."
He also pointed to potential collaboration in heavy industry and services."As well, we are producing steel and metal, and that's another area where we can cooperate. And of course, high technology like IT; we are ready for that," he said. "This is the kind of event where we have the possibility to study more about possible cooperation with those companies which are located in Surat."
During the interview, when asked about ongoing global conflicts, including tensions involving the United States, Iran, Israel, and the Russia-Ukraine war, the ambassador reiterated Ukraine's support for diplomatic solutions.
"War is always bad, you know; it's a bad thing," he said. "We think that in any conflict or in any bilateral discussion, the most peaceful way is diplomatic negotiation."
He added that armed conflict carries severe humanitarian and economic consequences."So, it doesn't matter which kind of conflict you have around the world; the use of force always has consequences, which are human lives and a terrible economic situation," Polishchuk said.
Reiterating Ukraine's global diplomatic stance, he said Kyiv continues to appeal for international support and cooperation."So, that is why Ukraine consistently and always requested all around the world, during meetings in the UN, that 'Please help us,' and we are as well ready to contribute to a global security system because Ukraine has the capacity for that, diplomatically and militarily," he added.
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