On August 16, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine  Pavlo Klimkin held a meeting with Zeev Elkin, Minister of Environmental Protection, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage of the State of Israel and a co-chair of the Israeli part of the Joint Ukrainian-Israeli Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

During the meeting the parties discussed vital questions pertaining to bilateral cooperation. In the context of trade and economic cooperation, reference was made to the importance of the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Israel by the end of this year. In order to resolve the issue of non-admission of a significant number of Ukrainian citizens to the territory of Israel at the Ben Gurion Airport, the sides decided to shortly hold consular consultations in Jerusalem.

The Ministers also touched upon the prospects of ratification by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of an Agreement between Ukraine and the State of Israel on Social Security, signed on September 28, 2012 in New York.

Pavlo Klimkin highly appreciated the personal contribution of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to Ukraine Eliav Belotserkovsky who will soon complete his diplomatic mission in Ukraine to the development of Ukrainian-Israeli relations.