H.E. Dmytro Senik
His Excellency is a graduate of the Kyiv Institute of Economics and Management. H.E. Dmytro Senik was born in 1981, in Kyiv, Ukraine.
H.E. Senik joined the Foreign Service in 2003. He has worked throughout the Ukranian establishment, as Adviser to the Foreign Minister, later Deputy Prime-Minister of Ukraine (2012-2014), Chief of Staff to the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Ambassador of Ukraine to Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, New Zealand, later taking up the post as Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine.
Currently, H.E. serves as the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Arab of Emirates and Bahrain whilst also being the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
H.E. Senik holds a Master in Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies, University of Malta. In 2019, Dmytro also graduated from the Nanyang Technological University with Master in Public Administration.
Interview – Discussion Points
1. Bilateral Relations
Editor-in-Chief, Anderson: What are the main priorities looking ahead in 2025 between your two countries?
H.E. Senik: First of all I must mention how much Ukrainians appreciate the role of the UAE in returning our defenders back home from Russian captivity.
H.E. Senik: Secondly, we appreciate the humanitarian assistance provided by the Emirati government to the children of Ukraine. Because of the war, Ukrainian children have been forced to study outside the classroom.
In doing so, Ukrainian children continue to use laptops and gadgets provided by the UAE government amidst attacks on education facilities across Ukraine. We have also received thousands of power generators as Russia deliberately attacks our thermal power stations in a attempt to freeze our people to death.
H.E. Senik: There are many more humanitarian efforts provided by the UAE for Ukraine. Some of which include building houses for foster families in Ukraine.
H.E. Senik: Looking ahead, we successfully negotiated a fully-flegded Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between both countries on 26 April 2024. This will untap full scale investment between both countries.
The agreement is ready for inking and I hope to do that soon. I think this will bring a certain glue to both countries, especially on people-to-people relations and investment projects in the recovery of Ukraine, after the war ends.
This will help to engage the Emirati business in the recovery of Ukraine.
2. Ukraine and the Gulf Cooperation Council
Editor-in-Chief, Anderson: To the UAE and wider GCC, why does the Ukraine war matter?
H.E. Senik: I think everyone understands, every nation in the world, that Russia violated the UN Charter, international law, and finally bilateral agreements with Ukraine. Russia had bilateral agreements, with Ukraine, that guaranteed Ukraine’s sovereignty by law.
This is a very dangerous precedent when a member of the UNSC permanent member invades another UN member in violation of these principles that underscore the UN’s Charter.
Why should this resonate with the wider world? We know who Russia’s partners in crime, its accomplices, in this crimes against humanity against Ukrainians. These rogue nations may draw specific conclusions if Russia goes unpunished.
It is a very dangerous precedent in international law and human kind, if you wish, where an aggressor perpetrates crimes on the territory of another country.
3. Russia’s Allies: North Korea & the Houthis
Editor-in-Chief, Anderson: There are reports that Russia are recruiting from North Korea and also reports, although disputed, about Russia’s recruitment of Houthis from Yemen to Russia via Oman.
H.E. Senik: Russia does not have the means to continue the war on its own. Russia engages with other rogue states, like Iran and North Korea, that provide Russia with ammunition and military personnel. I think the world should be alarmed at this kind of cooperation on these two axis: Russia-Iran and Russia-North Korea.
H.E. Senik: The world should be alarmed at this cooperation on both axis. This sets a very dangerous precedent and may embolden those countries to wrongdoings in their own regions.
Editor-in-Chief, Anderson: It is interesting to see the deepening of relations between Iran and Russia in the last two years, and the role of Iranian proxies in the region; this is something we must keep an eye on.
H.E. Senik: Definitely. It is very important to see what Russia gets in return for providing military personnel, drones, and ammunition to those countries.
Editor-in-Chief, Anderson: Definitely. The instability this causes in the Middle East is interlinked.
Editor-in-Chief, Anderson: Thank you, Mr Ambassador.
H.E. Senik: Thank you.
