Ambassador Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s envoy to the United States, recently accepted an award from Sister Cities International for her outstanding achievements during the UN International Day of Women in Diplomacy celebration. The occasion brought together diplomats, Government officials, entrepreneurs, and supporters to recognize her contributions to international relations and women’s empowerment.
In her acceptance speech, Ambassador Markarova, who has served as Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S. since February 2021 she covered several important topics. These included Ukraine’s current conflict with Russia, the critical role of women in her country’s strength and growth, and the value of global collaboration.
“You all know that my country fights in a horrible war for the past 851 days, now. And actually for 10 years if you count when Russia attacked us the first time,” Markarova stated. She refrained from detailing Ukraine’s needs, noting that these are well-known: “weapons, support to Ukraine, sanctions and isolation to Russia.”
Moving from the broader conflict to specific societal impacts, the Ambassador drew attention to the contribution of women in Ukraine’s defense and economic growth. “We have 56,000 women in the armed forces at the moment. We have the highest percentage of women because we lifted all the restrictions for women in the armed forces,” she reported. Markarova also shared a striking statistic about entrepreneurship in Ukraine: “56% of Ukrainian new companies are started today by women.”
Linking these domestic developments to international cooperation, Markarova expressed her appreciation for Sister Cities programs and people-to-people connections. She said, “Sister Cities are very important for us. You know these people to people that we really value American Support or other countries support.” She added that such relationships help build “not just the strategic partnerships now but strategic friendship for the future.”
Credit: Diplomatic Watch
Expanding on the theme of global cooperation, the Ambassador called for unity among nations that respect international law, stating, “We should say that the international rules should be adhered to and respected.” She urged the need for global solidarity against aggression, quoting Martin Luther King Jr.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere.”
Markarova concluded her speech with a call to action, urging attendees to “support women, support people to people connections” and to work together to counter threats to peace and stability worldwide.
"56% of Ukrainian new companies are started today by women," says H.E. Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States, during her acceptance speech at the Sister Cities International event in celebrationof UN International Day of Women in Diplomacy celebration.… pic.twitter.com/WcAgElYvlk
— DiplomaticWatch (@Diplo_Watch) June 27, 2024
