During his working visit to Brussels, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on 9 February to discuss Ukraine’s steps towards Euro-Atlantic integration. Denys Shmyhal stressed that Ukraine's goal is NATO membership and the Government of Ukraine is committed to exert every effort to achieve this goal.

"We are pursuing structural reforms, actively modernizing the security and defense sector, strengthening the rule of law and eradicating corruption. The fight against corruption and judicial reform is a top priority," he said.

The Prime Minister noted that the Government intends to strengthen the work on openness and transparency in the defense industry and will encourage companies to cooperate with the electronic public procurement system "Prozorro".

According to the Prime Minister, this year it is also planned to approve an interdepartmental mechanism for issuing the Declaration of Eligibility to Ukrainian enterprises, thereby allowing them to offer and sell their goods and services through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency Source File.

The Prime Minister assured the NATO Secretary General that the President, Government and Parliament of Ukraine, with the involvement of civil society, are actively cooperating to implement the Euro-Atlantic agenda.

One of the results of such cooperation, according to Denys Shmyhal, was the adoption of the Laws of Ukraine "On Defense Procurement" and "On Intelligence", which gave a significant impetus to the practical cooperation of Ukraine with NATO.

"An important and effective tool for implementing reforms is the Annual National Program, which is a roadmap for the implementation of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Preparation of the program for 2021 sees its final stages. The document was prepared with the participation of more than 100 public authorities and approved at a meeting of the Government," the Prime Minister said.

The Head of Government emphasized, the recognition of Ukraine in June 2020 as an Enhanced Opportunities Partner was an important stage in the realization of Ukraine's European integration aspirations.

"The Enhanced Opportunities Program should become an effective tool for Ukraine's practical rapprochement with NATO, transferring the Armed Forces to Alliance standards, strengthening NATO's eastern flank, and improving security by increasing NATO's presence in the Black Sea region," said Denys Shmyhal.

The Prime Minister thanked Jens Stoltenberg and NATO experts for taking into account Ukraine’s security concerns in the analytical process of developing a concept for reforming the North Atlantic Alliance and its future development after 2030 (NATO Reflection process 2030).

Moreover, Denys Shmyhal thanked NATO for its interest and support for Ukraine's initiative to establish the Crimean Platform and invited Jens Stoltenberg to personally attend the Platform's inaugural summit in August 2021.

Jens Stoltenberg, in turn, stressed that NATO's doors are open and the Alliance fully supports Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

 Photo from https://www.nato.int