Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin has announced the election of Volodymyr Sheiko as a Director General of the Ukrainian Institute, and Iryna Podoliak as a Chairman of the supervisory board of the institute.

"A few days ago I had the pleasure to meet with the members of the supervisory board of the Ukrainian Institute for the first time. I congratulate Volodymyr Sheiko on winning the contest for the post of director general, and Iryna Podoliak - on the election as a chairman of the Institute's Supervisory Board," Klimkin wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

The minister stressed that the team of the institute has an "ambitious and very difficult task: the Ukrainian Institute should succeed, as the British Council or the Goethe Institute once succeeded. "So that Ukraine can be seen and recognized in the world, our country can be entrenched in the mass consciousness of foreigners at the emotional level, at the level of artistic images and spiritual associations," he wrote.

According to Klimkin, the achievement of this goal depends on the joint work of the Institute team, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry team, the supervisory board, Ukrainian embassies, the professional community, the media and all others who are somehow involved in the process.

As reported, on May 7, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin set tasks at a meeting with Ukrainian Institute's supervisory board for the development of this organization.

"I've met with the supervisory board of Ukrainian Institute and greeted the winner of the competition [for the post of its head] Volodymyr. [We] should jointly make Ukrainian Institute as popular as the British Council or Goethe-Institute," the foreign minister wrote on Twitter on Monday, May 7.

As it was reported, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers in June 2017 approved the creation of the state institution "Ukrainian Institute" to represent Ukraine abroad and promote its image around the world. The Cabinet agreed with the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Ukrainian Institute should be subordinate to the ministry.

In January 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a competition for the post of Ukrainian Institute's director.

In April, the selection committee announced the winner of the competition. It was Volodymyr Sheiko, the former Arts Director at British Council Ukraine.