The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine updates its structure: new departments, elimination of the disarmament department and the emergence of a “department of unfriendly countries”
8 July 19:20
Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga has signed a decree on significant changes in the structure of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. According to the official website of the ministry, the update provides for the creation of new directorates and departments, as well as the liquidation of some existing units, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
What will change:
- The structure of regional departments is being updated: from now on, there will be the first and second European departments, departments for Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Africa and African regional organizations. This should bring the MFA in line with European standards and allow it to divide its work with Arab and African countries.
- The US and Canada departments will be separated from the Latin America Department, emphasizing the specifics of this area.
- The Department of Disarmament will be liquidated. Instead, the Department of International Security and Defense of Ukraine will be created .
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also establishing a department for unfriendly countries to counter threats from states pursuing hostile policies toward Ukraine, including Russia, Belarus, and North Korea. This is not about bilateral relations, but about security challenges.
- Central Asia will receive a separate department, which indicates increased attention to the region.
- There will be a Department of Sanctions Policy, which will systematize the work with sanctions (before that, these issues were “scattered” between different departments).
- For the first time, there will be a separate NATO department – previously it was combined with the EU in a single department. A cyber diplomacy department and an innovation and AI sector will also start working.
- The Department of Global Ukrainians and Humanitarian Cooperation will deal with Ukrainians abroad and humanitarian policy.
- The Department of International Law and International Legal Counteraction to Aggression will be responsible, in particular, for initiatives to bring Russia and Russians to justice for crimes.
- TheUkrainian Institute and the Hennadii Udovenko Diplomatic Academy are to be transformed into a full-fledged university.
- A functional division of deputy ministers is introduced: there will be a first deputy, as well as deputies for European policy, international security, and others.
The MFA emphasizes that the renewed structure is in line with the format of “a modern, strong and progressive foreign policy agency of a European state fighting for its life, freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
