I have great pleasure in extending a very warm welcome to His Excellency Mr. Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine, on his first State Visit to India. His visit takes place as we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Ukraine.

President Yanukovych and I have undertaken a comprehensive review of our bilateral relations. I conveyed to the President my satisfaction at the renewed vitality in our partnership in recent years and thanked him for his personal efforts and commitment to strengthen India – Ukraine relations. We have now agreed to forge a Comprehensive Partnership between our two countries.
 
Ukraine’s expertise in defence technologies is well established and offers synergies with our own defence technology base. Our two countries are already undertaking a number of defence cooperation projects. The defence cooperation agreement that we have just signed establishes a new framework for expending  this cooperation.

India's linkages with Ukraine in the field of space science date back to the commencement of our space programme. I am pleased that we are currently cooperating on advanced space launch vehicles. We have also broadened our scientific cooperation to draw upon the rich science and technology base that both countries possess. Today’s agreement on science and technology cooperation will facilitate deeper engagement in this important area.
 
President Yanukovych and I also exchanged views on nuclear energy and nuclear safety, where we can learn a great deal from each other. The unfortunate Chernobyl accident has given Ukraine valuable insight and knowledge in dealing with this critical issue. Through the Agreement that has just been signed between the nuclear regulatory authorities of both sides, we have agreed to share our experiences in nuclear safety and radiation protection. I also complimented President Yanukovych for his initiative to host the Kyiv Summit on Safe and Innovative Use of Nuclear Energy in April 2011 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident.
 
Our discussions also focused on our bilateral commercial relations. Both of us noted that our bilateral trade has more than doubled in the last five years to nearly 3 billion dollars, though it is heavily weighted in favour of Ukraine. We agreed to further strengthen our commercial relations and make them more broad-based and balanced. We have identified a number of areas such as fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, information technology, mining and heavy machinery for special attention. In this regard, I also conveyed to President Yanukovych India's interest in visa arrangements to facilitate travel by businessmen, professionals, students and people between the two countries.
 
President Yanukovych and I also exchanged views on regional and global issues. We also agreed to intensify our consultations in international forums. I have no doubt that this visit by President Yanukovych will set India-Ukraine relations on a firm course.
 
I once again extend a very warm welcome to President Yanukovych on his visit to India.