Top Source for Deep Regional Insights: Ukrainian Ambassador

We interviewed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky about how he uses Nikkei Asia.

Asia is increasingly important to us. In the past, being a part of the Soviet Union and located in Central Europe, we may have not paid enough attention to Asia. This clearly changed two years ago with the new government led by President Zelensky, like China becoming our largest trading partner since 2019 on the back of its economic growth. Understanding what will happen in Asia over the next decade very much matters to us and the world.

In this context, my book, the title of which can roughly be translated to English as “How to Work with Asia – Politics, Economy and Cultural Differences,” was just published in August in Ukraine. For those who want to build strong and long-term relations with Asian partners, it is only sensible to be aware of some unique procedures, bureaucracies, values and so on. The book is based on my 26 years of experience in the diplomatic arena and Nikkei Asia was one of the greatest references in authoring it.

Ukraine is one of the largest agricultural exporters in the world. It has been trading with European nations for many years, so we are used to their regulations and dealings. But exporting to Asia has been a unique experience with different distances and requirements.

Even among Asian countries, China and Japan, for example, are different. The latter is particularly demanding in terms of quality control. With Chinese companies, it is more often bilateral relationships, while Japanese companies – especially trading houses – tend to purchase our ingredients then integrate those in multinational supply chains. So, what appears to be an export from Ukraine to Europe or Africa on the surface could actually be a trade among local entities and partners of a Japanese trading house. By adjusting to these varied practices and relationships, we managed to increase exports, from grains to wine and dairy products and many others.

Southeast Asia is important too. We have succeeded in increasing agriculture exports to Vietnam last year and wish to do so with other populous countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. I also want to highlight Ukraine’s technological capability. In line with our long-term traditions, we have been producing military equipment. One commercial example is our high caliber cargo airplanes that are famous for the ability to land anywhere, even in places without airports. These have a great potential to be utilized in areas with difficult access, namely for the oil and gas or mining industries in Asia.