Ukrainian First Lady held number of important international meetings on 77th session of the UN General Assembly sidelines

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska arrived in New York on the occasion of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly

Rubryka writes about this, referring to the OPU press service.

As noted in the Office, the team of the President of Ukraine started the visit with a series of meetings with the first ladies and gentlemen of the world's countries.

Olena Zelenska met with the first lady of Poland, Agatha Kornhauser-Duda, and the first lady of Lithuania, Diana Nausėdienė, within the Lublin triangle.

"Today, we start a dialogue format of the first ladies within the Lublin triangle," stressed the President of Ukraine's group.

She also noted that this year's session of the General Assembly is special because the security situation in Ukraine as a result of Russia's war against our country should not leave anyone indifferent.

"The high-level segment of the UN General Assembly is a unique opportunity to draw additional attention to the threats caused by russian aggression against Ukraine, to emphasize its global dimension," the first lady stressed.

Olena Zelenska thanked Poland and Lithuania for showing solidarity and invaluable support for temporarily displaced citizens of Ukraine. After all, they were forced to seek shelter behind the border through military action, and they got it from their brothers in Poland and Lithuania.

For her part, Diana Nausėdienė initiated the unification of efforts of first ladies and international non-governmental organizations for jointly developing projects and initiatives.

The leaders of Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland also discussed helping children as a priority of trilateral cooperation, health care issues, education, implementation of social protection, and children's health projects.

"An important direction is humanitarian projects implemented in Poland and Lithuania, for which I am especially grateful to you, dear first ladies. Together with Mrs. Agatha, we patronize the project "Books without cordons."

120 thousand examples of books in Ukrainian have been published within the project's framework. With great pleasure, I also observe the work of the Ukrainian Center, which operates in Vilnius and has become a real corner of Ukraine in Lithuania," said Olena Zelenska.

She also appealed to her colleagues to introduce the Ukrainian language as a modern foreign language into their country's primary and secondary school curriculum.

Ukrainian First Lady offered that these and other joint projects be implemented within the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen framework.

"I'm sure the Summit doesn't have to live in one day. With your participation and support, I would be grateful for the opportunity to hold appropriate measures to support not only Ukraine in different corners of the world," said Olena Zelenska.

The first lady of Ukraine also held a meeting in the format of a branch, which was joined by a wider group of participants:

First Ladies of:

• Latvia Andra Levite,
• Poland – Agata Kornhauser-Duda,
• Lithuania – Diana Nausėdienė,
• Estonia – Sirje Karis,
• Suriname – Mellisa Santokhi-Seenacherry,

As well as:

• Wife of the President of the European Council, Amelie Derbaudrengien,
• Wife of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga, Fiona Sovaleni,
• Husband of the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Gauthier Destenay,
• Wife of the Prime Minister of Malta, Dr. Margaret Abela.

Brunch was held on the initiative of Olena Zelenska within the framework of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen. t was intended to bring together spouses of heads of state and government to discuss the global agenda.

"I sincerely believe that the power of the first ladies and gentlemen is capable of improving the world. It is capable, if not of finding a way out of crises, then of facilitating and mitigating the processes that these crises cause.

Or even more – to prevent them. We can and do this thanks to our social, educational, humanitarian, and cultural projects. We can do it gently and not with the strength of muscles," Zelensky's wife noted.

In addition, at the meeting, Olena Zelenska spoke about her plans to create a permanent online platform based on the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen. The platform will help to unite, particularly to find joint solutions and create projects.

"This year, within the framework of the Summit, 23 first ladies united around drawing the world's attention to the events taking place in Ukraine. And finding solutions that will positively affect our common future.

In an ongoing format, First Ladies and Gentlemen will be able to discuss today's current challenges that are important to them and their countries. Share your own experience of implementing projects.

The summit of first ladies and gentlemen is intended to become an international platform for the exchange of experience and the implementation of joint projects for the well-being of people in the world," concluded the wife of the President of Ukraine.

Reference

The Lublin Triangle is a platform for tripartite cooperation between the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Poland, and Ukraine, aimed at deepening regional cooperation in the security, economic, social and humanitarian spheres.

The decision to create the format was made on July 28, 2020, by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, Linas Linkevičius of Lithuania, and Jacek Chaputovych of Poland, who signed a declaration on the launch of a new regional association.

Або навіть більше – запобігати їм. Ми це можемо робити й робимо завдяки нашим соціальним, освітнім, гуманітарним та культурним проектам. Ми це здатні робити м'яко, а не силою м'язів", – зазначила дружина Зеленського.

Крім того, на зустрічі Олена Зеленська розповіла про свої плани створити на базі Саміту перших леді та джентльменів онлайн-платформу, яка діятиме постійно. Платформа допоможе об'єднатися, зокрема, для пошуку спільних рішень та створення проектів.

"Цього року в межах Саміту 23 перших леді об'єдналися навколо привернення уваги світу до подій, що відбуваються в Україні. Та пошуку рішень, які позитивно вплинуть на наше спільне майбутнє.

У форматі, який діятиме постійно, перші леді та джентльмени зможуть обговорювати актуальні виклики сьогодення, важливі для них та їхніх країн. Ділитися власним досвідом реалізації проектів.

Саміт перших леді та джентльменів покликаний стати міжнародною платформою для обміну досвідом та втілення спільних проектів задля добробуту людей у світі", – підсумувала дружина Президента України.