Ambassador of Ukraine to Brunei Darussalam Kateryna Zelenko looks forward to enjoy the Sultanate’s beautiful sunset and local delicacies such as nasi katok and ambuyat.
The non-resident foreign envoy is also inspired by poems of the late Yura Halim – pen name of Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Setia Negara Pengiran (Dr) Haji Mohd Yusuf bin Pengiran Haji Abdul Rahim.
The ambassador was in the country last week to present the letter of credence to His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.
“I fell in love with Brunei’s beauty when I first looked down during my flight and saw Bandar Seri Begawan with its pristine forest,” she said during an interview with Borneo Bulletin and Media Permata.
The ambassador arrived in Singapore in 2020 and plans to travel around ASEAN. “Ukraine has friendly ties with ASEAN for over 30 years. ASEAN is one of the most important strategic partners and we need to upgrade the ties in the region with over 600 million people,” she said.
During Brunei’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2021, Ukraine became an observer in the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) for the first time. “In 2022, we signed the Treaty on Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia,” said the diplomat. “We have to work together through mutual cooperation to address global challenges. The world is yet to fully recover from the impact of COVID-19. The supply chain issue and climate change are major issues too,” she said.
Zelenko revealed that Minister of Foreign Affairs II Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Erywan bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Haji Mohd Yusof and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held the first meeting to discuss the potential of trade and cooperation last year.
“Ukraine is a major exporter of food products. We are exporting halal products to Singapore and Malaysia and we are open for such trade with Brunei.
“Export from Ukraine to Singapore has grown 37 per cent in 2022 and we delivered a sizeable amount of poultry and eggs.
“If the Bruneian market is interested in Ukrainian products, we are happy to bring together our exporters and local importers to look at the potential,” she said.
In other fields of cooperation, the diplomat said, “We possess unique experience and can look at the information technology (IT) sector such as cybersecurity where Ukraine can share its best practices.
“Ukraine is one of Europe’s biggest IT hubs with Ukrainians being co-founders of popular apps and tech companies such as WhatsApp, Snapchat and PayPal. Our people have developed many of solutions widely used by millions of people.”
“There are many well-known Ukrainians in the fields of science, sports and arts too. We are a nation of creativity and vibrancy,” she added. Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day today. – James Kon
