PM Modi's visit to Kyiv: India & Ukraine decide to boost trade and commerce, sign pact on agriculture and food cooperation
| 2024-08-24
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on August 23, 2024.
India and Ukraine will explore all possible ways to expand and deepen bilateral trade and economic relations
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kyiv on August 23, 2024, is set to give a boost to India-Ukraine bilateral cooperation across diverse sectors like trade & commerce and science & technology.
Discussions between Indian Prime Minister Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy focused on strengthening cooperation in areas such as trade and commerce, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, defence, education, science & technology, and culture. They also explored a stronger partnership in domains such as digital public infrastructure, industry, manufacturing, green energy etc., including through greater involvement of business and industry from both nations, a joint statement issued after the talks noted.
During their talks, the two leaders emphasized the importance of the Indian-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, Industrial and Cultural Cooperation (IGC) in facilitating a future-oriented and stronger economic partnership between the two countries.
"In the light of the significant reduction in the annual bilateral trade in goods since the year 2022 due to the challenges related to the ongoing war, the Leaders directed the Co-Chairs of the IGC to explore all possible ways to not only restore bilateral trade and economic relations to pre-conflict levels but expand and deepen them further," the joint statement said.
Prime Minister Modi and President Zelenskyy also agreed to continue to work towards facilitating a stronger relationship between the defence entities in both countries, including through joint collaborations and partnerships for manufacturing in India and cooperation in emerging areas.
India, Ukraine Sign 4 Agreements
Senior officials from India and Ukraine signed four documents in the presence of Prime Minister Modi and President Zelenskyy.
A key agreement signed by the two countries is the one on cooperation in the fields of Agriculture and Food Industry. This pact expands mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of agriculture and food industry by promoting ties in areas of information exchange, joint scientific research, exchange of experience, cooperation in agricultural research, creation of joint working groups etc.
Additionally, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Government of India and the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of Medical Products regulation. The MoU envisages cooperation on medical products including regulation, improvement of safety and quality aspects, mainly through information exchange, capacity building, workshops, training, and exchanges of visits.
including the promotion of cultural exchanges and cooperation in the fields of theatre, music, fine arts, literature, library and museum affairs, as well as protection and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
India's Humanitarian Assistance to Ukraine
During his visit to Kyiv, Prime Minister Modi presented four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes to the Government of Ukraine. President Zelenskyy thanked Prime Minister Modi for the humanitarian assistance, which will help in expeditious treatment of the injured and contribute to saving precious lives.
Each BHISHM Cube consists of medicines and equipment for the first line of care for all kinds of injuries and medical situations. It also includes surgical equipment for a basic Operation Room that can manage 10-15 basic surgeries per day.
The Cube has the capacity to handle about 200 cases of diverse emergency situations such as trauma, bleeding, burns, fractures, etc. It can also generate its own power and oxygen in limited amounts. A team of experts from India has been deployed to provide initial training to the Ukrainian side to operate the Cube.
"The gesture underscores India’s continued commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine," India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
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