Vilkul believes that the future of Europe and the world is being designed in Ukraine

This opinion was voiced by Oleksandr Vilkul, former Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine (2012-2014), during the 7^th Kyiv Security Forum.

‘Currently, the future of Europe is being designed in Ukraine as is the future of the world, and mechanisms are being developed here to maintain a balance of mutual relations between the largest political and military interstate formations’, Vilkul stated, reminding that Ukraine is located between the EU and the Customs Union.

In his opinion, in such a situation the Ukrainian state should keep its non-aligned status. The ex-Vice Premier emphasized that “preserving traditional sales markets and finding new ones” is quite important to Ukraine.

Commenting on the crisis in the country, Oleksandr Vilkul stated that the central authorities must ‘hear regions’ because it’s important. Against this background, he underlined the need for implementation of a mechanism of power decentralization, noting that ‘the government has already made some first steps by adopting a concept of local self-governance reform’.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The Kyiv Security Forum agenda is designed for 2 days and offers six panels open to the media representatives. The agenda can be amended, with amendments posted on the Forum’s website.

A separate area (Press Center) will be organized for the press, with equipped workplaces and Wi-Fi Internet access as well as live broadcast of all the Forum panels. In addition, a specially equipped area in the session hall will be reserved for journalists.

The organizers are ready to help arrange individual interviews with and comments from the Forum speakers on advance notice.

The Kyiv Security Forum annual international event, initiated by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation in 2007, is a platform for debates on the most pressing security issues in Europe and the Black Sea region. The Forum’s mission is to increase security cooperation between the European Union and the Black Sea region, raise awareness about security development among key players, and promote the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.

The event is supported by the Viktor Pinchuk Foundation, the NATO Information and Documentation Centre in Ukraine, and the Chatham House Royal Institute of International Relations (UK).

For information on the project visit http://ksf.openukraine.org/

The Open Ukraine Foundation is an international charitable foundation established at the initiative of Arseniy Yatsenyuk for strengthening public diplomacy and developing Ukraine’s reputation in the world. The Foundation achieves its goal by implementing the key programs: International Dialogue, Cultural Horizons, and Young Leaders. The Foundation is an organization of a broad circle of charity providers and unites around itself any people who care for Ukraine’s reputation and future.

For more details about the Foundation visit http://openukraine.org.