Ukraine can intensify trade with Asian countries, while maintaining focus on European markets, the Deputy Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture, Ukraine’s Trade Representative Taras Kachka has said.
“We have a good dialogue with these countries. It is very likely that we will continue to talk about the intensification of trade. There are requests from Indonesia. There are talks with Malaysia,” he said during the discussion “Trade Wars: the Art of Defense.”
According to the trade representative, the demand for Ukrainian products from Asia is growing and this is a phenomenon of 2020.
“The fact that this year the dynamics of trade with Asia is greater than with the EU does not mean that we should forget the EU and flee to Asia,” he said.
Kachka added that next year Ukraine will “evolutionarily” update its Export Strategy, which will allow the country to be more predictable in terms of trade policy.
“The less “somersaults” we have, the better. In fact, we need a gradual systematic work in all directions,” the official said.
Top 20 countries Ukraine has posted the highest surplus of trade in goods in Jan- July of 2020 (thSd USD).
Source: SSC of Ukraine
Foreign trade turnover by the most important positions in January-July 2020 (export).
The date of the meeting of the Ukrainian-Polish Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation will be agreed upon in the coming weeks. The relevant agreement was reached during a telephone conversation between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau on Wednesday.
“Dmytro Kuleba noted the importance of using all opportunities and platforms to promote economic and trade cooperation between Ukraine and Poland amid the continuing effect on the economies of both countries of the coronavirus [COVID-19] pandemic. The ministers agreed in the coming weeks to specify the date of the meeting of the Ukrainian-Polish Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s press service said.
Kuleba and Rau also discussed preparations for the visit of Polish President Andrzej Duda to Ukraine at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It is expected that the visit of the Polish president will contribute to the development of political cooperation and will allow reaching new agreements on a wide range of issues on the agenda of strategic partnership between Ukraine and Poland.
In addition, the ministers agreed to speed up the preparation for the video conference of the coordinators from the Foreign Ministries of the Lublin Triangle countries – Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania.
The parties also expressed their commitment to a positive solution to cultural and historical issues.
“Kuleba noted the importance of achieving progress in the implementation of agreements on the restoration of the burial place of UPA [Ukrainian Insurgent Army] soldiers on Mount Monastery near Przemyśl, who died in 1945 in a battle with the NKVD internal troops units. The interlocutors urged not to allow the historical past to influence the good-neighborly nature of the Ukrainian and Polish relations,” the ministry’s press service said.
Rau also said that Poland continues to support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and this topic will become a priority during Poland’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2022. He expressed his conviction that the sanctions of the European Union against Russia for the occupation of Crimea and certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions should remain in force until the full cessation of illegal actions by the Russian Federation.
Rau also confirmed Poland’s unchanging support for Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
The parties exchanged views and noted the commonality of their positions on the development of the situation in Belarus as well.
Top 20 countries Ukraine has posted the highest surplus of trade in goods in Jan-May of 2020 (thsd USD)
Main trade partners of Ukraine in % from total volume (import from other countries to Ukraine) in Jan-May
