Volodymyr Groysman: Ukraine is interested to round off negotiations on concluding Free Trade Agreement with Israel
Ukraine is keen
on bringing the negotiation process on the
signing of the Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) with the State of
Israel to a conclusion by the
end of this
year as this
document will enable the two
countries to intensify their cooperation in the social and
economic spheres. This was announced
by Prime Minister of Ukraine
Volodymyr Groysman during a meeting with the Head
of the Ukrainian-Israeli Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and
Economic Cooperation, Minister of Environmental
Protection of Israel Zeev Elkin.
The meeting was held within
the framework of the sitting
of the Commission,
the regular round of which
was held in Kyiv.
The Head of
Government commended positive indicators in trade cooperation
between the two countries. Thus, the trade
turnover increased by 15% and exceeded
$ 500 million. However, the potential for
cooperation is the sum worth
$ 1 billion and areas of common
interest are agriculture, health, transport, energy and tourism.
«We are paying a lot of
attention to complete the negotiations
on the FTA. Especially since our trade turnover
is growing and we can
apply best practices of Israel
in various sectors of cooperation,
first of all in the
agricultural sector. By the end
of the year
we have to
draft the Agreement. When we remove barriers,
integration will happen shortly», stressed Volodymyr Groysman.
In turn, Zeev
Elkin emphasized that the Israeli
side took as a basis the
model of the development of mutual trade
proposed by the official Kyiv,
however, some issues concerning cooperation in the agrarian sector,
in the provision
of food security
and in the
field of IT technologies should be coordinated.
«We pledge
interest in cooperation in the field of
education and science, in launching
joint scientific projects. Our huge
human resources will enable us
to effectively use the capabilities
of the two
countries in the field of
applied science», Zeev Elkin underlined.
Volodymyr Groysman backed
the interest expressed by the
Israeli side and drew the
attention of the interlocutors to the plans
of the Ukrainian
Government in the educational reform, in particular
in the field
of preschool and school education
and initiatives regarding the creation
of the Innovation
Council under the Cabinet of
Ministers, which could become an
effective tool for mutually profitable
partnership.