Conflicts
Interview: Africa and Ukraine 'have a lot to offer each other'
EU Reporter's correspondent speaks exclusively with the former president of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko (pictured, left), about the differences and similarities between the two places, and the ongoing co-operation that needs to be maintained as the political crisis continues to plague the former Soviet country. The interview took place in Brussels, where Yushchenko was taking part in the plenary session of the EU's Economic and Social Committee (EESC), at the invitation of its President Henri Malosse (pictured, right).
EU Reporter: When you were president, did you have any opportunities to go to Africa to meet heads of state there?
Viktor Yushchenko: I had several visits to the African Congress. I was at a meeting of the league of the African States. I made official visits to Egypt and Libya. We worked actively with the World Food Organization, they were interested in using our grain production facilities. We had some interesting dialogues. There is much potential in working with Africa.
I always thought we could play an important role in Africa. I think we have a lot to offer each other; our political systems, economic co-operation, building bridges, meeting each other. We actually discussed the option of student exchange programmes, because in the past lots of students from African countries started to study in Ukraine. We also discussed how to train and educate doctors on the basis of our medical universities, and we have good co-operation on some African educational issues.
What kind of signal are you expecting from African heads of state, who met in Brussels recently. Are you expecting a message of solidarity from the African people? In the past we had many problems of domination, slavery and colonisation, for instance, and Ukraine is very involved with this.
Those political forces that create aggression in Ukraine, they do fear the external action from the world, in addition to fearing the reaction of their own people. I think that many countries of the world started talking seriously about Russian aggression; I think they look at these things differently in a more systemic way, as a more systemic threat.
We are not just talking about Crimea. The same applies to, for example, Azerbaijan or the Armenian conflict. The same applies to Abkhazia or Ossetia, to Georgia, to Transnistria. So, yes, Ukraine needs a lot of solidarity in how the world reacts to have a unanimous reaction to the actions of the president [Vladimir Putin].
It is not that difficult to produce this reaction. It is just calling things by their real names, and real definitions. If this is evil, it should be called evil.
The United Nations has produced several resolutions on Ukraine and the Ukrainian conflict. The link with the Arab countries can go further, and they can pass their own resolutions. There are dozens of international organisations that can help to produce meaningful elections, by which you can sat we are not indifferent when evil is committed by other countries.
Have you had contact through your foundation with Africa?
Actually, through an initiative of President Clinton, we are now working at an analytical and theoretical level with certain projects with African countries, and I hope that sooner or later our projects will be come real. And through the Club de Madrid, an organisation where many foreign leaders are members, there are also projects in Africa. And I have just became a member of that club.
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