Ambassador Markarova was pleased to join the ceremony of signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Department of State and the Smithonian Institution. It is a new five-year agreement that significantly expands cooperation and the number of international internship programs for scholars and museum professionals from around the world. 

The memorandum was signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch III.

The Smithsonian Institution provides tremendous support to cultural institutions of Ukraine. At the very beginning of the full-scale russian aggression, Smithsonian created the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative. It quickly activated a network of experts and began coordinating the supply of critical equipment to evacuate and preserve museum artifacts that were threatened by the russian invasion. 

Smithsonian also helped dozens of Ukrainian scholars to continue their internships at the Smithsonian units.