It is my greatest pleasure to welcome you and thank all of you for felicitating this outstanding event with your distinguished presence.

On occasion of the 24-th Anniversary of Independence of Ukraine, I would like to extend my sincere wishes of peace, love and prosperity to all Ukrainian compatriots as well as to all our foreign partners and friends, especially here in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Since Ukraine and Pakistan established Diplomatic Relations on 16-th of March 1992, the bilateral dialogue between both Sides have always been brotherly and sincere, based upon good friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation.

We highly appreciate an outstanding cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Ukraine in the military and technical and military-industrial fields that will proceed and will actively develop in future.

Our two countries enjoy mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation that in the year of 2014 despite all the problems has doubled and beaten the record of nearly half billion US Dollars, which is very much commendable.

Ladies and Gentlemen, during the last years our people have been completely formed in a single Ukrainian political Nation and today we are stronger than yesterday.

Our struggle against the aggression once again has proved that we cannot be enslaved or broken. We were born free on our land and we are ready to defend it until the end at any cost. Freedom, peace, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity – Ukraine does not demand more.

Russian illegal annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula and its aggression and support of armed terrorist units in the Eastern Ukraine region of Donbas, has demonstrated a blunt violation by Russia of core principles of International Law.

On July 17-th, 2015, Ukraine and the whole world commemorated the memory of the victims of the tragic crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. I think everyone in this Hall clearly understands real motives of Russia’s veto on MH17 International Tribunal.

We demand from Russia to immediately release all Ukrainians held in Russian prisons under fake and absurd sentences, including a known film-maker Oleh Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Nadiya Savchenko and others.

Ukraine is committed to follow the letter and the spirit of the Minsk deal. We demand the same approach from other signatories that have lately resorted to the language of blackmail. Otherwise, there is no alternative to sanctions, and even their strengthening. As well as there is no alternative to the peaceful resolution of the crisis.

The special peacekeeping mission in Donbas under the UN auspices could become a very useful instrument contributing to implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Ukraine strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The only possible way to address it, is to unite in common and non-compromised fight against this evil.

International terrorism, as our Pakistani friends know well from their own experience, has proved to be more flexible than the political will of nations, and today it has taken new hybrid forms. We are convinced that the need for the universal international instrument able to counteract this crime is not only urgent but long overdue.

In this context, we request a support from our Pakistani partners to Ukraine's recent initiative to consider the establishment of the International Day of Commemoration of Memory of the Victims of Terrorist Acts.

We thank the USA, European Union and its member-states, Canada, Australia, our friends in Asian continent and other actors of the world community for the consistent support of Ukraine on the international arena.

WE THANK ALL OUR PAKISTANI FRIENDS FOR SOLIDARITY.

We further advance in comprehensive reforms in Ukraine that we are sure eventually will bring us to achieving our prime foreign policy objective – becoming full member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

We are proud that the first results of our reforms in political sphere, economy, especially in anti-corruption activities have been recognized by our international partners and supported by the absolute majority of the Ukrainian people.

Thank you.

Long live friendship between Ukraine and Pakistan!

Glory to Ukraine! Pakistan Zindabad Слава Україні!

God bless our countries!