During his working visit to the Republic of Turkey on November 30, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal met with the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The parties discussed issues of trade, economic and energy cooperation, as well as partnership in the field of transport and military-industrial complex.

The Prime Minister noted the importance of the agreements reached between the President of Ukraine and the President of Turkey on intensifying the bilateral dialogue in strategic areas of cooperation.

"The Republic of Turkey is one of Ukraine's key trading partners. At the same time, we have great potential and opportunities to expand bilateral trade. We are talking not only about raw materials but also about processed products and finished products," said Denys Shmyhal.

According to the Prime Minister, one of the most important issues on the agenda of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Turkey is the completion of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement.

"I believe that our countries have sufficient potential to increase total trade at least twice, up to $ 10 billion a year. Given the factor of the neighborhood and the volume of trade between our countries, Ukraine is interested in concluding an ambitious, comprehensive agreement to maximize its potential," the Prime Minister stressed.

In a conversation with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Denys Shmyhal noted that among the priorities of reforms in Ukraine is to attract investment in the public sector of the economy, in particular on the basis of public-private partnership (PPP).

"Turkey has a successful experience in implementing large-scale infrastructure projects based on the formula of public-private partnership. We are really interested in this expertise. Therefore, we expect that the third meeting of the Ukrainian-Turkish Working Group on Public-Private Partnership will take place in the near future," said the Prime Minister.

The Head of Government stressed that one of the effective mechanisms for developing cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey in the field of energy is to hold a meeting of the Ukrainian-Turkish Working Group on Energy.

"Such format will allow us to discuss the full range of possible areas of cooperation in the energy sector, and strengthen bilateral relations on the way to economic growth in both countries," said Denys Shmyhal.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister of Ukraine and the President of Turkey also touched upon cooperation in the field of military-industrial sector.

Apart from that, the parties agreed that Ukraine and Turkey should continue to coordinate efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic aftereffect.

The Prime Minister also thanked Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkey for their continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.