Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Ukrainian president visited Israel on Tuesday. Photo: Kobi Gideon, GPO.

JNS.org – Israel on Tuesday welcomed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on an official state visit, by honoring his commitment to stand with Israel and by signing several bilateral agreements focused on developing and strengthening scientific and technological cooperation.

In an address, Israeli President Reuben Rivlin praised the strong relations between the two countries over the years.

“Today, Ukraine and Israel enjoy wonderful progress and cooperation – in education, medicine, culture, and in economics, where our trade has grown from strength to strength,” Rivlin said.

Poroshenko commended Israelis for their “faith” and “determination.”

“Since its independence, your country has faced serious external military threats, in spite of which you have undergone a remarkable transformation. You have propelled Israel to the top in the science, the economy, in military power.  Your country stands united, and my country is on a similar path and the same stand.”

“So as I begin this visit, I declare that Ukraine stands with the State of Israel,” Poroshenko declared.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met later in the day with Poroshenko and praised him for his “resolute stance against racism and anti-Semitism.”

Netanyahu said that in addition to the boom in Israeli tourism to the Ukraine, he expects cooperation in various areas between the two countries will continue to expand as well.

Poroshenko also expressed interest in “removing all the barriers in bilateral trade, with a trade turnover between Ukraine and Israel exceeding $ 1 billion yearly.”