Ukraine and Turkey have agreed to intensify industrial cooperation and bilateral trade

Aregular consultation was held between the Ukrainian and Turkish delegations in the framework of negotiations on signing a Free Trade Agreement between the countries. Ukraine was represented by First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine Oleksiy Lyubchenko, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine - Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka, and from the Turkish side - Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Tuzcu.

"My principal objective as First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy - is to become a general manager who will unite the efforts of all ministries and public authorities for economic growth. Currently, the Government of Ukraine is implementing a number of measures to revive the economy. We also want to reorient our economy - to export finished products instead of raw materials. Once such a policy was implemented with the processing of sunflower seeds and now Ukraine is a leader in the export of sunflower oil in the world," said Oleksiy Lyubchenko.

Also, according to him, industrial parks with all the infrastructure have been created in Ukraine to promote business development, law and regulations have been adopted to give a green light for investment, and the main points of economic growth have been identified.

Mustafa Tuzcu noted that the Republic of Turkey and Ukraine have strong political relations and a strategic partnership. Therefore, the next steps should be to deepen relations in the economic sphere.

"In recent years, we have a good trade balance of US$ 5 billion. Thanks to the signing of the Free Trade Agreement, it can double to US$ 10 billion. Turkey is one of the largest investors in Ukraine, and Turkish business sees opportunities for investment in renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications. The Free Trade Agreement is not only a guarantee of deepening our economic relations but also an impetus for the development of our economies," said the Deputy Minister of Trade of the Republic of Turkey.

For his part, Oleksiy Lyubchenko thanked the Turkish side that the Agreement is not only considered as trade but also related to production. "The most important thing for us is job creation and GDP growth. Ukraine is open for cooperation and investment, which is why the Ukrainian side will make efforts to finalize the process of signing a Free Trade Agreement with Turkey," said the First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

Also during the meeting, the participants discussed measures to support economies during the quarantine restrictions period, the peculiarities of protecting the interests of certain sectors of the economy, the reorientation of export policy and more.