The first official meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group

Yesterday, together with my colleague James O’Keefe, I had the honour of hosting the first official meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Implementation of the UK–Ukraine One Hundred Year Partnership Agreement in the House of Commons, in our capacity as Secretaries of the newly established APPG.

Following the Group’s formal establishment, we brought together Members of both Houses of Parliament, representatives of the Government of Ukraine, diplomats, business leaders and policy experts to begin shaping Parliament’s contribution to the implementation of the UK–Ukraine One Hundred Year Partnership.

The UK–Ukraine One Hundred Year Partnership is one of the most ambitious long-term bilateral agreements in modern British foreign policy. Our objective is to ensure that both Parliaments play an active role in supporting its implementation by bringing together parliamentarians, government, industry and experts to develop practical policy recommendations and long-term cooperation across defence, energy, trade, innovation and reconstruction.

My sincere thanks to Dan Carden MP, Chair of the APPG; Lord Glasman, for chairing the meeting; Deputy Speaker Olena Kondratiuk, Honorary Co-Chair; Lord Salisbury, Honorary President; the APPG Officers Charlie Banner (Lord Banner KC) and Sir Bernard Jenkin MP; colleagues from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; Members of both Houses of Parliament, particularly Lord Cryer and Lord Watts; the Embassy of Ukraine; and everyone who contributed to making this first official meeting such a success.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Dmytro Tretiakov, Strategic Adviser for International Engagement; Nataliia Katser-Buchkovska, Lead of the Energy Security and Infrastructure Subcommittee; Andriy Yarmolskiy and Oleksandr Gryban, Lead and Strategic Adviser of the Reconstruction and Investment Subcommittee; and Tetyana Nesterchuk, Strategic Adviser to the Legal and Sanctions Subcommittee, for agreeing to contribute their expertise to the APPG’s work.

This marks the beginning of an ambitious programme of parliamentary engagement to support the implementation of the UK–Ukraine One Hundred Year Partnership. I look forward to working with colleagues across Parliament, government, business and civil society to help strengthen this historic partnership in the months and years ahead.

Thank you for your trust and support. Stay tuned for further updates, events and policy initiatives.