The Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal during a working visit to Brussels, the Kingdom of Belgium, on February 10, met with the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis.

The Head of Government commended the statement of the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, which he had delivered in support of Ukraine the day before in the European Parliament.

"I want to assure you that despite all the complexity of the challenges we face, we continue to implement systemic reforms in Ukraine aimed at deepening economic integration with the European Union," stressed Denys Shmyhal.

During the meeting, the parties began consultations on further trade liberalization between Ukraine and the EU, as provided for in Article 29 of the Association Agreement with the European Union. In particular, it concerns accelerating and expanding the spheres of the abolition of import duties in trade between Ukraine and the European Union.

According to Denys Shmyhal, the EU is one of Ukraine's major trading partners, so the Government is determined to boost cooperation in this area.

"I am confident that maintaining a permanent dialogue will help eliminate barriers in mutual trade," the Prime Minister stressed.

The Head of Government thanked the European Commission for the decision to provide Ukraine with the first tranche of macro-financial assistance worth EUR 600 million at the end of last year.

"Timely receipt of funding by Ukraine has become extremely important to maintain macroeconomic and financial stability in Ukraine," said Denys Shmyhal.

The Prime Minister assured the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission that the Government of Ukraine would abide by its obligations to fulfill all the conditions set out in the Annex to the Memorandum of Understanding between Ukraine and the EU.

"We expect to successfully complete the program in the first quarter of 2021 to obtain the second tranche of macro-financial assistance in the spring of this year," the Head of Government emphasized.

During the conversation, Denys Shmyhal told Valdis Dombrovskis that the reform in the field of public procurement was among the most successful in Ukraine: "This is one of the areas we have made the greatest progress in the process of implementing the Association Agreement."

The Prime Minister told that Ukraine, at the request of the EU in November the previous year, had provided all the necessary information to complete Phase 1 of the implementation of the Association Agreement in the field of public procurement. Denys Shmyhal added that Ukraine was counting on the relevant confirmation from the European Union.

"Ukraine also counts on support for the inclusion of Ukraine's inland waterways in the TEN-T regional network. That will contribute to the development of the market of services in the sector of inland water transport and allow to attract investment in this area. In addition, it is a reorientation of freight flows to more environmentally friendly and economical river transport," emphasized Denys Shmyhal.

The Prime Minister thanked Valdis Dombrovskis for his personal support in resolving urgent issues for Ukraine and invited him to attend the celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.