Meeting with Oleksiy Syvak, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Botswana

On 14 October 2025, an interesting meeting with Oleksii Syvak, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Botswana, took place at the Educational and Scientific Institute of International Relations.

During the conversation, the Ambassador emphasised the diversity of Africa and stressed that successful relations with African states depend not only on diplomatic protocols and official agreements. It is very important to respect the traditions and customs of local peoples, learn their languages and worldviews, and understand the rich culture of each country.

"Only by learning about the social structure of society and its key needs, only by studying political culture and constantly reminding ourselves of Botswana's importance to Ukraine, have we begun to achieve success on the diplomatic front, because the basis of diplomacy is not only protocol meetings, it is people," said Oleksiy Syvak.

During the event, the Ambassador presented valuable awards to the winners of the research paper competition "Discovering Africa: Political, Economic and Sociocultural Prospects for Cooperation with Ukraine."

Fourth-year student of the "Country Studies" programme Oleksandr Koptev, who took first place, received a unique opportunity to undergo an internship at the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

The competition was organised by the Centre for Strategic Studies on Africa of the Educational and Scientific Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with the support of Ambassador Oleksiy Syvak.

We congratulate the students on their victory and wish them further success! We thank the Ambassador for his assistance in organising the competition and for the interesting meeting.