Visit of the President of Ukraine and the First Lady to the United States of America
Olena Zelenska on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly: Solidarity remains the only remedy against barbarism and aggression
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska began a visit to the United States to attend the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 17-21. The 78th session of the UN General Assembly officially opened on September 5.
On the first day of the visit, Olena Zelenska took part in a high-level event on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, "International Equal Pay Day 2023: Standing up for Equal Pay - Celebrating Achievements and Understanding Challenges", where she spoke about the situation with pay for Ukrainian women.
“Since the beginning of Russian aggression, our women have lived through everything, felt all the risks and challenges, and have taken on responsibilities in all spheres. It's not just about the refugees who are evacuating children and elderly relatives to safe places. It's also about the doctors because most of them are women. Teachers who continue to teach are mostly women. We have a very powerful volunteer movement, and most of its activists are women as well. There are more and more women in military service, around 60,000, although it is voluntary for them. At the same time, women have become more vulnerable, losing their jobs and businesses. Women used to run most of our small businesses – and they were the first to suffer. Very often, their shops, salons, and firms were burned down along with the cities they were located in,” the President’s wife pointed out.
She emphasized that these challenges are compounded by a pay gap - women are paid less than men on the same positions. This trend, which is typical for the whole world, is a problem in Ukraine as well.
“To combat this, Ukraine joined the European Biarritz Partnership for Gender Equality. Just a couple of figures. If in 2015, the gender pay gap was 26%, in 2021, we reduced it to 18%,” the First Lady noted.
She emphasized that the fight for equal pay continues even during the war.
The President's wife discussed the importance of raising this issue with Prime Minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir and heard commitments to bridge the gender pay gap by 2030 from UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous, ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo and OECD Deputy Secretary General Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen during the panel discussion.
“The state made a fundamental decision – to develop and improve even during the war. Despite the war. Last Friday, the Ukrainian Government approved the National Strategy for Overcoming the Gender Pay Gap in Ukraine until 2030. Does it look ambitious for a country at war? Yes, it does. We want to turn our trauma into growth. We continue to work towards equality during the war. But an important additional component is victory. So that our women can return from emigration, so that they can work, and earn decent wages in their homeland, so that new businesses can open – we desperately need victory,” Olena Zelenska emphasized.
It is not only a legal, but also a moral obligation of the state to give Ukrainian women justice and confidence, she emphasized.
According to the First Lady, the Ukrainian delegation has many important meetings planned. In particular, Olena Zelenska will meet with the WHO leadership, take part in the event "Fighting for the Future: Ukrainian Children in War," and in the UNESCO event "Building Peace and Resilience through Culture: The Intersection of Culture, Crisis and Sustainable Development," dedicated to the preservation of Ukrainian cultural monuments.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Penny Pritzker in New York
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker in New York.
The Head of State congratulated Penny Pritzker on her appointment and expressed hope for the future fruitful cooperation.
"Recovery is a very important issue for us, both after the war and right now, while the war is ongoing. In particular, you can come to Ukraine and see the functioning of schools, bomb shelters, hospitals and energy infrastructure, which is key on the eve of winter," he said.
The parties discussed the priority regions of our country for reconstruction, as well as support for the most promising sectors of the Ukrainian economy.
The President emphasized the importance of participation of American business in the reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed as a result of the full-scale Russian invasion. In particular, these are schools, kindergartens, residential buildings, and energy facilities.
The Head of State noted that American companies could join the reconstruction of the Ukrainian energy system.
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The First Lady received the Clinton Global Citizen Award, which is presented for civil leadership
During a visit to the United States to participate in the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, First Lady Olena Zelenska received the Clinton Global Citizen Award.
Established in 2007 by Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, the award embodies President Bill Clinton's call to action by recognizing outstanding individuals whose vision and leadership have set an example for the global community. These individuals have proven that diverse segments of society can successfully work together to develop solutions that lead to positive and lasting social change.
“It is a great honor for me to accept the award, which was received by the outstanding personalities of the world. Along with the honor it is also a great responsibility. They say a leader is the one you will follow wherever you wouldn’t go yourself. I am not sure if this could be applied to me. However, it seems to me my leadership is about giving courage to people. I truly believe, leadership is about dedication. Dedication to everyone who trusted you, to what you do,” Olena Zelensks said receiving the award.
The First Lady of Ukraine noted that she shares the award with all Ukrainians.
“These days everyone in my country is a dedicated leader. A mother, who takes her child to school and then rushes to work after a sleepless night during the air raid alert. A teacher, who gives a class – often in a bomb shelter, remotely, in danger, but still teaching. Rescuers and doctors rushing to the victims of shelling. Courageous men and women who stand on the front line sacrificing their lives to prevent the enemy from invading their cities, homes – and also to prevent the aggression from spreading further in the world. These are true leaders who have taken responsibility for their lives, their country and for maintaining security in the world. They are my compatriots. I thank them and on their behalf for this award," the President's wife added.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the President of Chile
On the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of the Republic of Chile Gabriel Boric.
The Head of State thanked for the consistent position of Chile, particularly in the framework of the United Nations General Assembly, on the condemnation of Russian aggression.
"Thank you for your position in support of our people, our sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is very important that you support our resolutions at the UN," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
He noted Ukraine's determination to deepen cooperation with Latin American countries. In this context, the parties discussed the possibility of organizing a Ukraine-Latin America summit with a view to further rapprochement.
In addition, the President of Ukraine emphasized the importance of Chile's full involvement in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and the country's participation in the upcoming Global Peace Summit.
The leaders coordinated further steps to expand bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Chile in the international arena.
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Head of State had a meeting with the President of the European Commission, the President of Romania and the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria
On the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a multilateral meeting with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of Romania Klaus Iohannis and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria Mariya Gabriel.
The talks in this format were primarily focused on preserving the single market principle and free access of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU market.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the President of the European Commission for her unwavering leadership and firm stance on lifting all restrictions on access for Ukrainian agricultural products after September 15 at the EU level.
"We have established an effective mechanism for maintaining an ongoing dialogue - the Joint Coordination Platform for Export and Transit of Ukrainian Agricultural Products. This platform should continue to work and help resolve all problematic issues in the field of agricultural products," the President of Ukraine emphasized.
The Head of State informed about the further algorithm of actions of the Ukrainian government and coordination of joint steps.
"Ukraine is a future member of the European Union. Therefore, we must work together already today to continuously liberalize trade within the EU single market, prevent any unilateral restrictions in the future and protect the competitive advantages of each EU member in conditions of free trade," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Together with the President of Romania and the Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria, the parties exchanged views on finding effective solutions in the field of logistics, in particular, increasing the capacity of ports, including the Black Sea port of Constanța, and river transport on the Danube River, as well as the importance of further increasing transit of Ukrainian products through Romania and Bulgaria, taking into account the potential of the EU's Solidarity Lanes.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen praised Bulgaria's efforts, especially the decision taken by the Bulgarian government and the crucial role played by the leaders of parliamentary factions in the Bulgarian National Assembly.
The Head of State thanked the President and the government of Romania for their contribution to bolstering the unity of the EU, adherence to the principles of the single market and free competition.
"It is through Romania that over 60% of transit of Ukrainian grain that passes through the EU's Solidarity Lanes is ensured. Our joint efforts will help reduce the burden on the infrastructure of the Ukrainian ports of Izmail and Reni, as well as speed up cargo transshipment. The Ukrainian part of the Danube River should also be included in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T)," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
The participants of the meeting discussed alternative transportation routes through Romania and Bulgaria, which would significantly increase transit volumes and reduce the burden on the domestic markets of these countries.