Volodymyr MUZYKA, interviews Volodymyr Butiaha, former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Republic of the Gambia (the posts combined) * * * How do the matters stand at present in the relations of this country with the nations of the African continent? What are exactly the interests that the Embassy of Ukraine protects in such countries of your accreditation as Nigeria and the Gambia? "Perhaps you know that the most important task laid down for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is to put the foreign policy on economic footing. In the developing countries, particularly African, it is possible to promote Ukrainian goods that are in less demand in the countries of the West. "The advanced countries are not always interested to import Ukrainian produce since besides also having present-day technologies they carpingly protect the interests of their own makers. In contrast, the African countries feel the need to have unsophisticated machinery that is, easy to operate, maintain and service. They readily buy our tractors, trucks, agricultural machines, electric power generators, etc. Such equipment is not demanding and provides fail-safe operation under unfriendly climatic conditions. Also in demand are chemical fertilizers and metalware, стр. 14 which import from Ukraine is subject to quotas in the West. Aside from that, the countries of this region favor the complex machinery for the oil industry, production of shipbuilding, as well as enormous experience of Ukrainian experts in geology, power engineering, fishery, environment protection, etc. "One should not forget that Ukraine during the Soviet Union was one of the centers that trained national cadres for the developing countries. You can meet graduates of the Ukrainian institutions of higher learning on commanding positions at the government ministries and departments both of Nigeria and the Gambia, the other country I am accredited at. The Emb ... Читать далее