Yanukovych wants new foreign minister to assist Ukrainian companies on foreign markets
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych says he expects that newly appointed Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara would aim the country's foreign policy at assistance to Ukrainian companies on foreign markets.
"The foreign policy should be economized [i.e. it should support Ukrainian companies on the foreign markets]," the president said at a meeting with diplomats at the Foreign Ministry in Kyiv on Monday.
The head of state noted that Ukrainian authorities should do their utmost to preserve the traditional markets, as well as extend their geography and search for new markets to sell Ukrainian goods.
"I am sure that Leonid Oleksandrovych [Kozhara] understands these tasks very well," Yanukovych said.
The president added that one of the vulnerabilities of the Ukrainian economy is its dependence on foreign markets, due to which it requires optimal economic growth models. He added that the level of domestic demand for Ukrainian products should be increased and dependence on imported goods should be reduced.
Yanukovych also said that Kozhara is well-known in political circles as an expert in the sphere of foreign policy and he does not need detailed introduction.