In the framework of strengthening cooperation and interaction with the countries of the Global South, the Ukrainian delegation headed by the Permanent Representative Tamila Tasheva visited India, Malaysia and the Republic of Indonesia.

The delegation included Members of Parliament of Ukraine – members of the inter-factional association “Crimean Platform” Vadym Halaychuk and Mariia Mezentseva, as well as the Head of the Crimean Platform Department Mariia Tomak.

During the Conference of Ambassadors of Ukraine in 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared the countries of the Global South one of the key strategic priorities of our country.

“Implementation of the strategic course of the President of Ukraine to strengthen cooperation with the countries of this region requires finding those priority topics that can lay the groundwork for long-term and fruitful cooperation and will be important not only for us but also for the countries we see as our partners”, Tamila Tasheva said.

During the visit, the Ukrainian delegation focused on establishing cooperation with potential partner organizations in Southeast Asia by promoting the Crimean Platform and raising the issue of politically and religiously motivated persecution in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

In total, the members of the Ukrainian delegation held more than 20 substantive talks, including meetings with high-ranking officials of the Republic of Indonesia: the Chairman of the Interparliamentary Cooperation Committee of the Council of People’s Representatives, the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, the Advisor to the Minister of Justice, the Head of the International Relations and Investment Service of the Government of the Special District of Yogyakarta, the Chief Ombudsman, etc.

In addition, meetings were held with members of the Executive Board of the Nahdlatul Ulama Association, the largest religious organization in the world, the Secretary General of the Central Executive of Muhammadiyah, the second largest religious organization in the world, and members of the steering group of the Indonesian Ulema Council.

Tamila Tasheva, together with other members of the delegation, gave four public lectures and held meetings with rectors of major academic centers in the region.

During the talks, the representatives of Ukraine informed the interlocutors in detail about human rights violations in the occupied Crimea, which are usually directed specifically at Crimean Tatars, including criminal prosecutions, falsified cases and criminal sentences of the occupation courts.

Another important topic was the destruction of historical and cultural monuments of the Muslim community by the occupiers. They discussed the creation of a special international tribunal, as well as the prosecution of all those involved in the commission of war crimes on the occupied Crimean Peninsula.

Thanks to the fruitful work of Ukrainian diplomats, Malaysia and Indonesia supported the recently approved UN resolution demanding that Russia withdraw its troops from the territory of Ukraine to its internationally recognized 1991 borders.

To strengthen Ukraine’s informational presence in the leading media of the respective countries, Tamila Tasheva gave interviews to television broadcasters in Malaysia and Indonesia. In addition, India hosted a photo exhibition to mark the anniversary of the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as a screening of the film Homeward directed by Nariman Aliyev at the French Cultural Center in Jakarta.