President Viktor Yuschenko wants Ukraine to establish comprehensive contacts at all levels with all countries.
The presidential press service announced this in a statement.
At a meeting with the newly appointed ambassadors of Japan, Cote D'Ivoire, Peru, Burundi, Yemen, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Saudi Arabia, Mali, Tunisia, and Cyprus, Yuschenko said that Ukraine intended to develop broad contacts with countries at all levels - from senior political leaderships to communities, families, and individuals.
"You will always find partners and faithful friends in Ukraine. I am confident that your activities will facilitate comprehensive development of friendship and cooperation between your countries and Ukraine," Yuschenko said.
Yuschenko added that he viewed the assumption of office by the newly appointed ambassadors as the start of a new and important stage in Ukraine's relations with their countries.
Yuschenko informed the ambassadors about Ukraine's bids to integrate into the European Union and NATO and said that 2008 has been a successful year for Ukraine in terms of achievement of its foreign-policy goals.
Yuschenko stressed that Ukraine's participation in regional cooperation projects such as GUAM and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization was accelerating every year and that Russia remained a strategic partner of Ukraine primarily in the area of trade and economic cooperation.
According to Yuschenko, Ukraine is consistently developing political dialogue and economic relations with countries in the Middle East and Near East.
Yuschenko noted the significant practical opportunities for development of bilateral trade and investment cooperation with all countries in Ukraine's region.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the newly appointed ambassadors of Japan, Cote D'Ivoire, Peru, Burundi, Yemen, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Saudi Arabia, Mali, Tunisia, and Cyprus took office on Friday.
