The meeting in Qatar will focus on the management of ports and airports, their modernization, the construction of new facilities; investments in the agro-industrial sector, energy, possible participation of Qatar in privatization in Ukraine.
Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – April 05, 2021 – Diplomatic Affairs
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Elena Zelenskaya are paying an official visit to the state of Qatar. Indignation is expressed on the Web – everything is happening against the background of Russia’s activation at our borders and in the Donbas.
However, advisers to the head of the President’s Office Mikhail Podolyak and Timofey Milovanov have already identified some details of the visit. According to them, the topics of port and airport management, their modernization, construction of new facilities will be raised; investments in the agro-industrial sector, energy, the possible participation of Qatar in the privatization in Ukraine.
Is there a reason for public outrage? What is Zelensky really looking for in a distant land? The “Comments” portal decided to ask these questions to experts.
“It seems that the Ukrainian president is going to where they are ready to receive him.”
Igor Solovey, head of the Agency for International Studies, notes: “The Gulf countries including Qatar are very important. And, of course, interesting. But the world is still a little bigger. And in a well-thought-out foreign policy, contacts and visits are planned in a balanced way, taking into account the country’s priorities. visits to the countries of the same region are the same imbalance. “
According to the expert, it looks like the Ukrainian president is going to wherever they are ready to receive him.
“And not where Ukraine needs to achieve something really important,” gnaw out “victories: for example, negotiate with leading countries on common approaches in the fight against Covid-19. Or eliminate EU quarantine restrictions that hinder the movement of Ukrainian citizens. Or finally, – to strengthen the anti-Russian coalition in the face of the threat of an armed invasion of the Russian Federation, which has escalated in recent days. Is there really something more important than these questions ?! “Igor Solovey wonders.” By the way, fellow journalists who have been working in the media for a long time, instantly remembered that they had already gone on the same trip, with the same goals announced by the presidential administration – but that was during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych. ”Such tactics went to Yanukovych from the time of the late Kuchma – when, after the cassette scandal, Kiev gave instructions to prepare visits to the embassies in Asia and Africa, for in Europe and North America no one received him. “
“The visit to Qatar is important in terms of promoting Ukrainian interests in the Middle East”
Nikolai Zamikula, an expert on the Middle East at the National Institute for Strategic Studies, does not believe that one should be indignant with the president’s visit to Qatar, even though it is taking place against the background of the intensification of the Russian military near our borders.
“The Russian threat is constant and long-term. At the same time, there are doubts that today’s activity is precisely evidence of preparations for an imminent large-scale invasion. Rather, we are talking about putting pressure on Ukraine and its people in order to destabilize (for this purpose, in the information plane and apocalyptic forecasts by Russian experts are launched – like the recent commentary by Pavel Felgenhauer.) The task is to sow panic in the Ukrainian society and bring discord in the functioning of state bodies, the threat from Russia cannot be completely ignored – however, it would be a mistake to revise all plans of state policy (such as the schedule of visits of the top leadership abroad) because of it, “Nikolai Zamikula notes.
In his opinion, the visit to Qatar itself is undoubtedly important from the point of view of promoting Ukrainian interests in the Middle East.
“This country has huge potential – completely incommensurate with its relatively small size. This is about the energy sector, economic cooperation, investment activities,” the expert lists. “It is important to remember that Qatar maintains a high level of relations with Turkey, our strategic partner. On the other hand, At the beginning of this year, the de-escalation of the diplomatic confrontation between Qatar and the coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia was finally achieved. Thus, today the strengthening of this direction of Ukraine’s foreign policy will not directly threaten relations with other regional partners. “
Thus, Nikolai Zamikula continues, Zelensky’s visit to Qatar plays a positive role.
“However, one should not expect excessive specifics from its results, which will have positive consequences in the near future,” the expert warns. “Rather, agreements will be reached, which will form the basis for future work on agreeing on specific joint projects and agreements. In this context, the presence of Zelensky in Qatar is important from the point of view of representing the interests of Ukraine.
After all, Qatar is an absolute monarchy, and in order to agree on a real partnership, it is necessary to ensure personal contacts at the highest level. a matter of one day or a week … I do not expect a special breakthrough from the visit, but as a planned activity of Ukraine in the region, it is important. And because of the escalation of the situation around Russian actions, it is clearly impossible to abandon all other directions. “
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Source: Ukrgate