KYIV. Nov 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko have discussed trade, economic and political issues of cooperation during a telephone conversation.
“Both presidents have noted positive developments in trade and economic cooperation along with the growth of trade turnover between the two countries,” the Ukrainian presidential administration’s press service said on Thursday evening.
Poroshenko and Lukashenko welcomed recent achievements of the Belarusian-Ukrainian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation, which met in Minsk on November 10.
In turn, the Belarusian president’s press service said that during the phone call initiated by the Ukrainian side, both presidents agreed that the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation is a good platform to discuss not only problems but also prospects for cooperation.
“As is noted, efforts to remove barriers in mutual trade proceed in a constructive way … It is noted that, despite a decline in bilateral trade in recent years, there has been a positive trend, which must be maintained,” the Belarusian side said.
Poroshenko’s press service said that the two presidents also discussed Ukrainian-Belarusian cooperation within the UN and other international organizations. Yet, the Belarusian side said that the subject of support for a number of Ukrainian initiatives through international organizations, particularly the United Nations, was raised by the president of Ukraine.
