Yalta European Strategy: NEWS
The Vilnius Summit – Creating Wider Europe? - Leonid Kozhara, Radoslaw Sikorski, Elmar Brok at the 10th Annual Meeting of YES
The Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, to be signed this November in Vilnius, will bring significant advantages to both parties. This statement made the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Leonid Kozhara, at the session “The Vilnius Summit – Creating Wider Europe?” at the 10th Annual Meeting of Yalta European Strategy, at the historic Livadia Palace, on Saturday.“Ukraine is not a mere beneficiary of the Agreement. It may contribute considerably to the development of a strong, modern, Europe”, believes the head of foreign affairs.
The Minister reminded the audience that Ukraine has a large, professional workforce, with skills relevant to many industry sectors, and a large transportation network. Ukraine also has the technology and experience in implementation of large-scale projects in high-tech industries. It is among the richest in natural resources of all European countries. On top of all this, its geopolitical position makes it an important hub of peace and stability in the Eastern European region and the entire Eurasian continent.
The planned signing of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Ukraine is of special importance, Leonid Kozhara emphasized. It will open opportunities not only for the parties to the Agreement, but for the entire continent. “Ukraine, along with the other countries of the Eastern Partnership may become a connecting link in the creation of a free trade area that reaches from Lisbon to Vladivostok”, noted the Minister.
The Association Agreement, the Minister is convinced, is also an additional opportunity for the EU to prove its strength and attractiveness, and in future to replicate the experience acquired with Ukraine in other countries of the Eastern Partnership. “We are stronger together indeed,” Leonid Kozhara stressed. “And it would be good if they who still doubt importance of the Vilnius summit, finally understand that.”
Ukraine is a step closer to association with the EU – Radoslaw Sikorski
Ukraine is close to meeting the requirements for signing the Association Agreement with the European Union, stated the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski at the 10th Annual Meeting of YES “Changing Ukraine in a Changing World: Factors of Success” on Saturday in Yalta.
At the same time, he noted that signing the agreement at the Vilnius summit in November is merely the beginning of the process. He advised that the forum should develop a vision of Ukraine’s next steps. “Following the summit, the Eastern Partnership countries should move forward and demonstrate their determination to implement the reforms we agreed on in the document… The Association document is not merely a technical document, it describes a political vision in which the countries associating with the EU are positioned in relation to other countries”.
According to Mr. Sikorski, some time should pass between signing the Association Agreement and considering full membership of the Union. “We, for instance, saw x2.5 growth in imports. You can also achieve this if you sign the Agreement and implement it in practice, combat corruption, create the right conditions for investment and really become a modern Ukrainian state”, the diplomat said during the discussion “The Vilnius Summit – Creating Wider Europe?”
“You are a step closer to achieving your goal and I hope your finish will be successful. Now you are so close to the finish line it would be bad if you failed to take the last step over it. We have managed to take it and I am sure you will be able to do it as well”, he finished.
The 10th Yalta Annual Meeting is streamed live at korrespondent.net and
yes-ukraine.org in English and Ukrainian on September 20th and 21st.
Live Webcasts will also be available on the websites of ICTV (ictv.ua), Channel 5 (5.ua), «Kommersant» newspaper (kommersant.ua), as well as the online edition of "Ukrainska Pravda» (pravda.com.ua).
The official Twitter of the 10th Yalta Annual Meeting: @yes_ukraine, hashtag: #yalta2013
Special Partners of the 10th Yalta Annual Meeting include:
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Partners of the 10th Yalta Annual Meeting are:
Shell
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DCH
International Renaissance Foundation
State Agency for Investment and National projects of Ukraine
Media-partners:
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Yalta European Strategy (YES) is the largest social institution of public diplomacy in Eastern Europe, providing an open and equal dialogue on global issues affecting the European Union, Ukraine, Russia and other countries. This non-partisan organisation was established in 2004 by the Ukrainian businessman and public figure Victor Pinchuk.
The YES Annual Meetings held in Yalta’s Livadia Palace have become an open platform to discuss and look for new ideas and views on paths to European, Ukrainian and global development. Every year these meetings bring together over 200 politicians, diplomats, statesmen, journalists, analysts and business leaders from more than 20 countries. The dialogue on global challenges broadens the vision on the situation inside Ukraine and the prospects for the country’s development in the modern world. It is also an incentive to find common ground between countries, common interests and values.
At the YES Annual Meetings the world's top opinion leaders present their visions of current and future trends which impact all spheres of life of society. In 2010, 2011 and 2012 the events were opened by Presidents Viktor Yanukovych, Bronislaw Komorowski, Shimon Peres and Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. YES Annual Meetings key speakers have included Mykola Azarov, Kofi Annan, Egemen Bagis, Carl Bildt, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Richard Branson, James Wolfensohn, Newt Gingrich, Herman Gref, Arkadiy Dvorkovich, Robert Zoellick, Bill Clinton, Paul Krugman, Alexei Kudrin, Leonid Kuchma, Yuri Milner, Condoleezza Rice, Lawrence Summers, Radoslaw Sikorski, Javier Solana, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Shashi Tharoor, Strobe Talbott, Niall Ferguson, Vladimir Filat, Joschka Fischer, Stefan Fule, Gerhard Schroeder,
Muhammad Yunus and many others.
Official website: www.yes-ukraine.org
Victor Pinchuk Foundation is an international, private and non-partisan philanthropic foundation based in Ukraine. It was established in 2006 by businessman and public figure Victor Pinchuk. Its goal is to empower future generations to become the change-makers of tomorrow. To achieve this, projects are developed and partnerships are built in Ukraine and worldwide.
· in people, to boost human capital;
· in society, to promote social responsibility;
· in the world, to foster a more integrated world.
The projects of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation include, among others: the network of neonatal centers Cradles of Hope, the largest private scholarship programme in Ukraine, Zavtra.UA, the WorldWideStudies scholarship programme for Ukrainian students studying abroad, the centre for contemporary art PinchukArtCentre with its biannual prizes Future Generation Art Prize and PinchukArtCentre Prize. The foundation also hosts the Davos Philanthropic Roundtable and Davos Ukrainian Lunch organized each year at the occasion of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum and supports the international network YES (Yalta European Strategy) to foster Ukraine’s European and global integration, as well as a startup online platform for fostering philanthropy in Ukraine, the Philanthropic Marketplace. The Foundation is a member of the European Foundation Centre and the Ukrainian Grantmakers Forum. It cooperates with the Clinton Global Initiative, the Brookings Institution, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Peres Center for Peace, the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, and other nongovernmental organizations.
Official website: pinchukfund.org
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