Italy and Ukraine

Establishment of diplomatic relations: January 29, 1992.

Diplomatic missions: Embassy of Ukraine in the Italian Republic; Embassy of the Italian Republic in Ukraine.

Political dialogue:

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, six visits of the President of Ukraine to Italy have taken place: in May 1995, November 2002, October 2008, November 2015, February 2020 and May 2023. The President of Italy visited Ukraine in 1996 (state visit) and 1999 (working visit). 

Recent bilateral contacts:

January 12, 2023 – Minister of Economic Development of Italy Adolfo Urso visited Ukraine.

January 20, 2023 – telephone conversation between Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy Antonio Tajani.

February 9, 2023 – a brief meeting between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of the Council of Ministers of Italy Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the European Council (Brussels).

February 18, 2023 – a brief meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy Antonio Tajani on the sidelines of the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven within the framework of the Munich Security Conference.

February 21, 2023 –Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Ukraine.

March 23, 2023 – online meeting between President of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk and President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic Lorenzo Fontana.

March 29, 2023 – telephone conversation between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of the Council of Ministers of Italy Giorgia Meloni.

April 11, 2023 – telephone conversation between Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy Antonio Tajani.

April 11, 2023 – VTC between Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and Minister of Economic Development of Italy Adolfo Urso.

April 11, 2023 – telephone conversation between Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko and Minister of Internal Affairs of Italy Matteo Piantedosi.

April 26-27, 2023 –Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal visited Italy, Bilateral Conference on the Restoration of Ukraine.

April 26, 2023 –Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba visited Italy.

April 26, 2023 – telephone conversation between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni

May 8, 2023 – telephone conversation between Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov and Minister of Defense of Italy Guido Crosetto.

May 13, 2023 – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Italian Republic.

May 20, 2023 – bilateral meeting between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the Group of Seven Summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Existing bilateral high-level instruments: 

Ukrainian-Italian Council for Economic, Industrial and Financial Cooperation (the last meeting took place on December 16, 2020); Joint Ukrainian-Italian Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation; Mixed Ukrainian-Italian Commission on International Road Passenger and Freight Transportation.

Legal framework:

Number of valid documents: 38

Key documents:

Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Ukraine and the Italian Republic (January 29, 1992).

Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Ukraine and the Italian Republic (May 3, 1995).

Consular Convention between Ukraine and the Italian Republic (December 23, 2003);

Convention between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Italian

Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation of Income and Capital and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion (26 February 1997).

Air Services Agreement (2 May 1995).

Agreement on Mutual Protection of Classified Information (6 June 2001).

Agreement on Technical Cooperation (13 March 2003).

Agreement on military-technical cooperation (July 24, 2007).

Agreement on merchant shipping (February 21, 2012).

Agreement on mutual recognition and exchange of drivers licenses (July 20, 2021).

Agreement on police cooperation (June 10, 2021, at ratification).

Trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and Italy

Key indicators of bilateral trade:

• Italy is the seventh trade partner of Ukraine among the countries of the world in terms of the volume of goods trade (after China, Poland, the Russian Federation, Germany, Turkey, Belarus);
• In terms of the volume of Ukraine’s trade with EU countries, Italy is in third place (after Poland and Germany);
• Italy is the fourth destination in the world for Ukrainian export (after China, Poland and Turkey);
• Italy is the second destination in Europe for Ukrainian export (Ukraine exports more only to Poland).

(* according to preliminary data of the State Customs Service of Ukraine for the aggregate results of 2021-2022)

Statistical review of trade and economic relations:

For the period January-February 2023, the volume of trade in goods between Ukraine and Italy amounted to 589 million euros, which is 35% less than the previous year. Export volumes of Ukrainian goods to Italy amounted to 367 million euros and decreased by 42%, import volumes decreased by 18% and amounted to 222 million euros. The positive balance for Ukraine during this period amounted to 145 million euros.

Dynamics of trade between Ukraine and Italy in 2014-2023 

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Jan.-Feb. 2023

USD million

million euros

Turnover

3976,9

2956,0

3250,8

4073,2

4610,4

4493,6

4057,6

6144,8

3266,2

589

Export 

2468,3

1979,8

1929,6

2469,8

2628,3

2418,9

1928,9

3469,3

1942,5

367

Import

1508,6

976,1

1321,2

1603,4

1982,0

2074,7

2128,7

2675,5

1323,7

222

Balance

+959,7

+1003,7

+608,4

+866,5

+646,3

+344,2

-199,8

+794,8

+618,8

+145

Main products of Ukrainian exports to Italy in 2022

№

Goods

million euros

% of exports to Italy

1

Agricultural, forestry and fishing products

586,2

30,2%

2

Non-precious metals and metal products (excluding machinery and equipment)

514,9

26,5%

3

Food, beverages and tobacco products

458,0

23,6%

4

Wood and wood products; paper and printing

124,9

6,4 %

5

Textiles, clothing, leather and accessories

79,5

4,1%

6

Products of mineral extraction from quarries and mines

54,4

2,8%

7

Other

124,3

6,4%

Main goods imported to Ukraine from Italy in 2022

№

Goods

million euros

% of imports from Italy

1

Machinery and equipment

271,3

20,5%

2

Food, beverages and tobacco products

259,9

19,6%

3

Textiles, clothing, leather and accessories

143,7

10,9%

4

Organic chemical compounds

132,3

10,0%

5

Electrical devices

104,7

7,9%

6

Non-precious metals and metal products (excluding machinery and equipment)

92,5

7,0%

7

Other

318,9

24,1%

Prospects for increasing Ukrainian export and development of trade and economic cooperation

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Ukraine is the 58th destination for Italian exports and the 48th partner-supplier of products to Italy.

The volume of direct investments of the Italian Republic abroad (as of 4th quarter of 2022) is 603 732 million euros, and the volume of direct foreign investment in Italy is 554 058 million euros.

Cultural and humanitarian cooperation:

Italy regularly hosts events aimed to promote Ukrainian language and culture, as well as present Ukrainian cultural heritage in the Italian cultural space.

Cultural events such as: art exhibitions, photo exhibitions of contemporary Ukrainian artists, thematic conferences, concert tours of art groups, performances by popular musicians, fashion shows of Ukrainian designers regularly held in Italy.

Ukraine is regularly presented at the Venice Biennale and Venice International Film Festival, the exhibition of contemporary art “Roma Arte in Nuvola”, where a wide audience could discover the uniqueness of the masterpieces of creative studios of Ukraine.

Cooperation in the field of science:

Ukrainian-Italian cooperation in the field of science and education is aimed at establishing cooperation between higher educational institutions and preparing specialized and interdepartmental agreements.

In particular, bilateral documents on cooperation were signed between: the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Academy dei Linchei; Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and the University of Florence; between the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the National Council for Research of Italy;

National Technical University of Ukraine Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and the Consortium of Universities of Virtual Learning Nettuno, the Polytechnic University of Milan and others.

In addition, over the last period, contacts and cooperation have been established between:

· Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and La Sapienza University of Rome;

· the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine  and the National Research Council of the Italian Republic (Institute of Energy and Interphase of Genoa);

· Odesa State Environmental University and National Consortium for Marine Sciences (CoNISMa);

· the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (National Historical and Archaeological Reserve “Olbia” — a complex of monuments of the famous ancient city-state of Olbia in the Mykolaiv region);

· the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (National Historical and Archaeological Reserve “Olbia” in the Mykolaiv region) and the Main Archaeological Department of the Emilia-Romagna region (Archaeological Museum of Ferrara).

Ukrainian Community:

The Ukrainian community in Italy is one of the largest ethnic groups in the country. The majority of Ukrainian citizens in Italy are labor migrants who have a work permit in the state.

The largest population of Ukrainians lives in Rome, Naples, Milan, on Sicily and Sardinia.

The number of people granted temporary protection in Italy due to the large-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine exceeds 173 thousand.

Currently, more than 50 Ukrainian associations (NGO) functioning in Italy. Major part of them engaged in a cultural area with the aim promote Ukraine in international society.

Diplomatic mission:

Embassy of Ukraine to Italian Republic: https://italy.mfa.gov.ua/