March 6, Lebanese Ambassador Yusef Sadaka, Lithuanian Ambassador Algirdas Kumzha and Palestinian Ambassador Khalid Arikat presented their credentials to Victor Yushchenko.
When greeting Mr. Kumzha, the Chief of State thanked the ambassador for what he had done as head of the Taras Shevchenko Fund and Ukrainian Institute in Lithuania. The President also expressed gratitude to the Lithuanian government for politically supporting Ukraine’s bid to join the EU and NATO. They agreed that the two countries strived to forge closer economic, political and humanitarian ties. Mr. Kumzha invited the President to attend a meeting of the Community of Democratic Choice in Lithuania this May. Mr. Yushchenko said he would be happy to meet his counterpart, Valdas Adamkus, who is scheduled to visit Ukraine on March 11 to take part in a Personality of the Year program.
At his face-to-face meeting with the Palestinian ambassador, the Head of State said he hoped our friendly relations with Palestine would continue to develop and added that Ukraine was ready to help peacefully settle all conflicts in the Middle East. The ambassador spoke of his country after recent parliamentary elections and said Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was determined to observe UNO resolutions in order to settle the lasting conflict. Mr. Arikat pledged to spare no effort to develop political, economic and humanitarian cooperation with Ukraine.
During a conversation with the Lebanese ambassador, the President said he was glad the Embassy of Lebanon was eventually opened in Kyiv and congratulated Mr. Sadaka on being appointed the first ambassador. He said our country wanted to develop its relationship with Lebanon and particularly forge closer economic ties. The President added that Ukraine was ready to educate more Lebanese students. The ambassador said Lebanon also wanted to send students to Ukraine’s economic universities. He thanked our country for helping promote peace in the Middle East and expressed gratitude to Ukrainian peacekeepers for clearing the Lebanese territory of mines. The sides agreed to hold a meeting of an economic commission to formulate specific cooperation projects.
