The Embassy of Ukraine, with the support of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO), held a commemorative event to mark the launch of the renewed parliamentary friendship group Australia – Ukraine, the celebration was hosted by the Australian Federal Parliament on September 13, 2017

The event was attended by the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. J. Bishop, the management and members of the Group, honoured guests – Special Envoy of the Australian Government for the Identification and Repatriation of the Bodies of Australian Citizens – the victims of the MN17 disaster, retired Air Chief Marshal A. Houston, Deputy Secretary of the Australian DFAT,  Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations in 2013-2014, G. Quinlan, who actively supported Ukraine, and representatives of the Australian DFAT, Embassy and members of the Ukrainian community.

Welcoming the establishment of the Group, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs emphasised the continued support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“I congratulate the origination of the parliamentary Friendship Group with Ukraine. Countries that share common values and believe in the rule of law have to stick together”, J. Bishop said.

The chairman of the group, Chris Crewther, Australia’s Liberal Party MP, in turn, emphasised that he had high expectations and hopes on the interesting and fruitful cooperation.

Senator Catryna Bilyk, the deputy chair of the group from the opposition Labor Party of Australia, stressed that for her membership in the group was above all the development of interpersonal relations.

The initiation of the group's practical activities was congratulated by Stefan Romanov, the chairman of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, who has made significant efforts to form a parliamentary association, and Mykola Kulinich, Ambassador of Ukraine to Australia, who apprised the audience of the situation in Ukraine and potential directions of bilateral cooperation.

During the event members of the parliamentary group were given the books of Russian professor Yuri Fedorov "Hybryd war a la russe" and Ukrainian scholars Valentin Badrak and Dmitry Kozlov "The Kremlin's information front, about methods of hybrid warfare from Russia against Ukraine, issued with the support of the Ukrainian Association of Sydney.