Agenda:

The Chamber PR Committee Meeting which took place on Wednesday, August 18^th was dedicated to the development of the joint initiatives of the PR Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on the formation of positive international image of Ukraine.

The Meeting involved discussion of the new Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Ukraine #617 dated July 19^th, 2010 "On the Order of Spending Costs Directed by the State Budget of Ukraine at the Financial Support of Forming Positive International Image of Ukraine" and the state initiatives on the formation of a positive international image of Ukraine with Mr. Oleg Voloshyn, Director of the Information Policy Department, MFA.

Mr. Voloshyn outlined priorities of the state foreign policy specifying the short- and long-term plans. Fulfillment of the short term plans aims to demonstrate the current situation in Ukraine, which is characterized by a stable democratic power supported by the population, a clear list of the state reforms and a balanced political course intended for the further European integration, which for the time being involves alignment with European standards. The long term plans comprise the strategic objective of entering the European Union.

Besides, Ukraine is concentrated on close cooperation with the USA, Russian Federation and China. Europe is considered as one of the key strategic partners. In general, the above mentioned plans are underlining philosophy of the neutrality of Ukraine. Special attention is being paid to the cooperation with different European media with the aim of communicating the policy priorities and thus improving the image of Ukraine in the world on a regular basis and using the reliable communication channels.

In regards to the above mentioned Resolution #617, Mr. Voloshyn mentioned about its pilot character and limited budget, which are closely connected with previous scarce financing of similar initiatives. He also expressed expectations for future attention of the state to the formation of a positive international image of Ukraine and consequent allocation of for funds.

Mr. Voloshyn stressed the priority objective of his Ministry to develop the concept of a positive image policy of Ukraine and invited the Chamber PR Committee Members to contribute to the process and provide professional feedback and recommendations, which they might considered as useful based on their experience and knowledge.

Agenda:

The Chamber PR Committee Meeting took place on Friday, July 30^th and was dedicated to the Immigration Card Project aimed at making the Ukrainian immigration card more user-friendly and applicable to welcome guests for 2012 European Football Championship within the context of the initiative Discover Ukraine 2012.

The Project was discussed with Mr. Oleksiy V. Palamarchuk, Deputy Head of Department of Border Control and Registration, State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, who enlightened the participants on the general regulations on the Ukrainian immigration card and the new initiatives of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine on its improvement.

The form and order of the Card is approved by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and any changes which the Committee Members would like to introduce shall be reviewed and approved by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. Committee Members and Mr. Palamarchuk agreed to further continue discussion on the permissible minor changes, such as change of paper quality, fonts, placement of advertisement, which could make the card more presentable and convenient for users. 

Taking into account the introduction of electronic databases and the recent legislative initiatives of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, filling of the immigration card shall be obligatory only for the citizens crossing the Ukrainian Border with the internal passports, after the corresponding regulation is approved by the relevant state authorities.