Ukrainian top official visits Israel for economic talks

A Ukrainian deputy prime minister visited Israel on Wednesday for talks on economic cooperation, heading one of the first official high-level delegations from Kyiv to Jerusalem since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka met with Israeli officials to discuss “prospects for increasing bilateral trade; expanding the legal framework for economic cooperation, particularly in services and investment; and strengthening innovation exchange, particularly in agricultural technologies, which are important for the development of Ukraine’s processing capacity,” Kachka’s office said in a statement.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote on X that he and Kachka “discussed the war in Ukraine, the talks on the matter and our bilateral relations.” Sa’ar added that “Israel is aware of the tough times that Ukraine is experiencing and the suffering of the Ukrainian people.” He and Kachka “discussed establishing the mutual dialogue on the Iranian threat soon.”

Sa’ar “raised the need for Ukraine to designate Hamas and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as terror organizations,” he added.

Kachka also met with Nir Barkat, the Israeli minister of economy and industry.

“The parties discussed Ukraine’s significant economic prospects in the context of post-war reconstruction, particularly in terms of attracting investment, and agreed to work on new areas of mutually beneficial economic cooperation,” the statement from Kachka’s office said.

During his visit, Kachka led his delegation to attend the 13th meeting of the Joint Economic Commission between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of Israel, held on Thursday in Jerusalem. The meeting was co-chaired by Kachka and Minister Ze’ev Elkin, who is responsible for the rehabilitation of the Tekuma region near Gaza after the Hamas invasion of Oct. 7, 2023.

Kachka and Elkin discussed rehabilitation strategies in Israel and Ukraine, Elkin’s office said. It was the first meeting of the forum in four years, an interruption caused by wars that broke out in both countries.

The resumption of the forum’s meetings is “a clear sign of the strength of the ties between the two countries and a return to the path of expanding cooperation between them,” Elkin’s office said in a statement on Thursday.