The Visit of the Ukrainian President to France Aims at Making Breakthrough in the Bilateral Relations

KYIV, October 7, 2010 - Today the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych begins his
official visit to France. During the two-day visit Viktor Yanukovych will
meet with the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy, the Head of the French
National Assembly Bernard Accoyer, the Prime Minister Francois Fillion, as
well as the representatives of the largest French corporations.

It is only the third visit of a Ukrainian President to Paris.
The French leader Nicolas Sarkozy invited his Ukrainian counterpart to visit
France shortly after the newly elected Ukrainian President was inaugurated.
The Road Map of the French-Ukrainian relations is the key document which the
two countries are planning to sign tomorrow.

France is the seventh largest investor to the Ukrainian
economy. Most of France's biggest banks and multinational corporations,
including Calyon Bank, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, state-owned energy
giants Electricite de France and Gaz de France, as well as Bouygues, Systra
and others are represented in Ukraine. Both sides say there is a mutual will
to enhance economic cooperation. So the Ukrainian President's goal is also to
reassure French investors that the country's economy is becoming a safer and
more predictable investment destination.

The Ukrainian side relies on the French political support of
its projects related to the modernization of the national gas transit system.
In his recent interview to the French "Le Figaro" the Ukrainian leader also
diplomatically touched upon the possibility of France playing a role in the
creation of a new consortium between EU, Ukraine and Russia, which will be
jointly managing the supplies and transit of the Russian gas to the EU.

Answering "Le Figaro"'s question about his expectations from
the upcoming visit, the Ukrainian President said: "I like France very much.
Going to Paris is a great pleasure for me. I have an impression there was a
pause in the relations on the high level between our two countries. I am
going to propose to President Sarkozy to do our best in order to activate our
political and economicrelations. I am confident it meets the interests of
both countries. I expect positive decisions from this visit, as we have a lot
to do together".

For more information, please contact Natalya Shulevskaya,
+380633776645, news at wnu-ukraine.com, Project Manager at Worldwide News Ukraine