The Visit of the Ukrainian President to France Aims at Making Breakthrough in the Bilateral Relations

KYIV, October 7, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych begins his official visit to France. During the two-day visit Viktor Yanukovych will meet with the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy, the Head of the French National Assembly Bernard Accoyer, the Prime Minister Francois Fillion, as well as the representatives of the largest French corporations.

It is only the third visit of a Ukrainian President to Paris. The French leader Nicolas Sarkozy invited his Ukrainian counterpart to visit France shortly after the newly elected Ukrainian President was inaugurated. The Road Map of the French-Ukrainian relations is the key document which the two countries are planning to sign tomorrow.

France is the seventh largest investor to the Ukrainian economy. Most of France's biggest banks and multinational corporations, including Calyon Bank, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, state-owned energy giants Electricite de France and Gaz de France, as well as Bouygues, Systra and others are represented in Ukraine. Both sides say there is a mutual will to enhance economic cooperation. So the Ukrainian President's goal is also to reassure French investors that the country's economy is becoming a safer and more predictable investment destination.

The Ukrainian side relies on the French political support of its projects related to the modernization of the national gas transit system. In his recent interview to the French "Le Figaro" the Ukrainian leader also diplomatically touched upon the possibility of France playing a role in the creation of a new consortium between EU, Ukraine and Russia, which will be jointly managing the supplies and transit of the Russian gas to the EU.

Answering "Le Figaro"'s question about his expectations from the upcoming visit, the Ukrainian President said: "I like France very much. Going to Paris is a great pleasure for me. I have an impression there was a pause in the relations on the high level between our two countries. I am going to propose to President Sarkozy to do our best in order to activate our political and economicrelations. I am confident it meets the interests of both countries. I expect positive decisions from this visit, as we have a lot to do together".

SOURCE Press Office of the President of Ukraine

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