India-Ukraine sign agreements on agriculture, medicine, food & culture

India and Ukraine on August 23 inked four agreements extending cooperation in areas of agriculture, food industry, medicine, culture, and humanitarian assistance, officials said.

The historic India-Ukraine agreements were sealed following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Earlier, Modi began the historic visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv amid war shadows to hold talks with President Zelenskyy.

Modi’s trip comes amid Kyiv’s fresh military offensive in Russia’s western Kursk region. Also, it is the first-ever visit to Ukraine by an Indian Prime Minister after Ukraine became independent in 1991.

During a meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India has always advocated peace and it has never been “neutral or an indifferent bystander” during the Russia-Ukraine war.

Modi reiterated India’s position that the conflict can be resolved only through dialogue and diplomacy.
“New Delhi is ready to make proactive contributions towards efforts for peace,” Modi added

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar shared details on the bilateral meeting between Modi and the Ukrainian President. “The two leaders thoroughly discussed the war in Ukraine,” Jaishankar said.

“They also tasked the Intergovernmental Commission, of which Minister Kuleba and I are the co-chairs, to specifically focus on rebuilding our trade and economic relations, which had gone down in recent times. And we certainly look forward to having an early meeting of that body, definitely by the year-end,” Jaishankar added.

PM Modi's visit to Ukraine is historic and we hope President Zelenskyy too will visit India at his convenience well, according to Jaishankar. India handed over medical support equipment weighing 22 tonnes to Ukraine in a gesture of solidarity.

"We handed over cubes containing medical support equipment to Ukraine," Jaishankar said, highlighting India's ongoing humanitarian support to the war-torn country.