UWC president calls for granting Ukrainian citizenship to diaspora representatives

President of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) Paul Grod has stressed the need to provide representatives of the diaspora with Ukrainian citizenship in order to involve them in public service and politics in Ukraine.

He said this at the All-Ukrainian Forum “Ukraine 30. International Relations” on July 6, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Grod noted that Ukrainians abroad want Ukraine to become a democratic, independent, and powerful state and a Euro-Atlantic partner.

"For this, it is very important that we as a world diaspora can join the development of Ukraine, and for this it is very critical that we can become citizens of Ukraine, and therefore we strongly support the creation of the concept of interethnic citizenship, when we can become full citizens of Ukraine, join its development, become civil servants, and even join politics," he said.

The UWC president noted that similar experience exists in successful countries of the world, Eastern Europe, and the Baltic States, where representatives of the diaspora became citizens and helped reform and build the state.

"We hope that this year a law on interethnic citizenship will be adopted so that there really is a Ukrainian world, so that we do not feel that there are Ukrainians living abroad and those living in Ukraine," Grod stressed.

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