On February 7, the official opening ceremony of the Honorary Consulate of Ukraine took place in Seattle, Ukrainian Embassy to the U.S. said on its website.

The event was attended by Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Valeriy Chaly and the newly appointed Honorary Consul Valeriy Holoborodko.

"In his speech Ambassador Chaly noted that the opening of the honorary consulate will be an additional impetus for further development of closer ties between Ukraine and the state of Washington," the embassy said in a statement.

The Ukrainian diplomat added that Ukraine and the state of Washington had a huge potential for further cooperation in economic, cultural, and educational areas.