Ukraine will be setting up a number of its embassies in a new, remote format, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says.
The new format implies headquarters located in Kyiv rather than in a host country, Kuleba said, commenting on Presidential Decree No. 99/2021 of March 15 on the approval of the regulation on foreign diplomatic institutions.
The regulation determines the status, tasks, and functions of Ukraine's foreign diplomatic institutions.
"The innovations of the presidential decree on foreign diplomatic institutions will allow us optimizing management and making embassies more mobile, efficient, and economical for taxpayers," the minister said.
According to Kuleba, one of the key innovations is a new format of embassies physically located in Ukraine.
"From now on, we will be able to create Ukrainian embassies abroad with residences based in Kyiv. That is, the embassy is physically located in Ukraine, while providing presence for our state in a foreign country remotely. In the era of total digitization, such an institution could perform almost all functions as the one physically located in the host country," the minister said.
The top diplomat recalled that such format of a remote diplomatic presence has already been successfully implemented by a many countries, including in the European Union, and now Ukraine is beginning to embody this advanced experience as an addition to the traditional formats of diplomatic presence.
Read alsoZelensky appoints ex-finance minister as Ukraine's ambassador to U.S.Also, the minister spoke about the new format of Ukrainian embassies abroad: "1+2" (an ambassador and two diplomats), which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently starting to implement.
"The diplomatic service is in many ways similar to the military. Its future lies with compact, mobile units that are able to quickly and efficiently perform tasks assigned. Therefore, we have developed a new format. The 1+2 embassies will become precisely such compact diplomatic teams, in particular in countries and regions where Ukraine hasn't yet been represented," said Kuleba.
The minister recalled that he sets five priority tasks for all heads of foreign diplomatic institutions: to strengthen Ukraine's security, boost trade and investment, help Ukrainians abroad, build up Ukraine's "soft power" abroad, and expand freedom of travel for Ukrainians.
"The innovations allow today in practice to expand the geography of Ukraine's global presence, while significantly saving taxpayers' money. More presence means more opportunities for the Ukrainian state, Ukrainian businesses, and citizens," the minister said.
