Minister of Health Viktor Liashko took part in a meeting of heads of foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine. The meeting was held with the participation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy under the slogan “From the Power of Diplomacy to the Diplomacy of Power”.
During the meeting, the participants focused on foreign policy priorities in times of war.
One of the key commitments that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized in his speech was the active implementation of bilateral security agreements concluded between Ukraine and other states in accordance with the Joint Declaration of the Group of Seven countries of July 12, 2023. So far, Ukraine has signed 28 security agreements. These are strategic partnerships aimed at increasing Ukraine’s resilience and capabilities in the face of russian aggression in various areas, including healthcare. Accordingly, the Ministry of Health is actively working on signing bilateral agreements in the healthcare sector to implement the security agreements already concluded.
“As of today, the Ministry of Health has already signed 11 agreements in the healthcare sector to implement the signed security agreements – with Latvia, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Estonia, France, Norway and Italy. These documents are aimed at improving the Ukrainian healthcare system, strengthening its resilience and ability to respond quickly to challenges. I am grateful to the diplomats and teams of our embassies for their support and systematic activities. We will prolong vigorous activites in this critical area,” said Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko.
The minister also noted the importance of developing international medical partnership, an initiative of the First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska launched in 2023 at the First Ladies and Gentlemen Summit. According to him, 66 memorandums of cooperation between Ukrainian medical institutions and medical institutions from 24 countries have already been signed as part of this initiative. The partnership involves 37 Ukrainian and 45 foreign medical institutions. Among the healthcare institutions that have become partners are multidisciplinary (including university) hospitals, children’s hospitals, specialized oncology and psychiatric institutions, medical universities from Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Israel, Spain, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, the United Kingdom, Poland, France and the Czech Republic. Ukrainian institutions are located in 15 regions: Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Rivne, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, Volyn and Kyiv city.
The participants also discussed the immutability of Ukraine’s European integration path. European integration is the way to modern medicine, new business opportunities and quality services for citizens. The Ministry of Health is systematically implementing initiatives that promote integration into the single European medical space. Currently, the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU in the healthcare sector stands at a record 88%.
Viktor Liashko thanked Ukrainian diplomats for their consistent cooperation, support of medical initiatives and contribution to the transformation of Ukraine’s healthcare system. (Government portal)