Deputy Head of President’s Office: Economy is priority of Zelensky's foreign policy

"There are many models in the world, the best of them must be applied in practice. I welcome the initiatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen the economization of foreign policy. After all, the priority of President Zelensky's foreign policy is the economy," Deputy Head of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine

According to him, the main factor in strengthening trade and economic diplomacy of Ukraine is the involvement of high-class specialists in this work.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President noted that the Ukrainian state was preparing to revise quotas on the supply of products to the European Union. According to the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, such an opportunity will appear from 2021.

Zhovkva added that Ukraine should bring to the European market not only agricultural products, which are already competitive, but also industrial ones.

"Unfortunately, we sometimes face protectionism from the European Union towards our companies, for example, in the field of metallurgy. When we see such protectionist measures, the President responds immediately by raising these issues during talks with EU leaders. In this way, the President defends the interests of the Ukrainian manufacturer in the international arena," he stressed.

The Deputy Head of the Office of the President added that certain sections of this Agreement are outdated, as negotiations on this document began back in 2008, when trade volumes between Ukraine and the EU were completely different. But our state has an ambitious goal - to fully implement the Association Agreement with the EU by 2025.

"We have always been clear in Brussels about our perspective and our goal. I would like to emphasize once again that European integration is a priority for Ukraine. And, again, not just of foreign policy. Diplomats have already done an important part of their job. Now it is up to our government officials, specialists who should start feeling like in the European Union," he stressed.

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