On March 13, the third meeting of  the High-Level Ukraine-EU Dialogue in Horizontal and Specific Industrial Sectors chaired by Stepan Kubiv, First Deputy Prime Minister/ Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine and Timo Pesonen, Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs of the European Commission was held in Brussels.

In his speech, Stepan Kubiv emphasized the importance of the Ukraine-EU Dialogue for effective communication and exchange of experience between Ukraine and the European Union on mechanisms of modernization  of the Ukrainian industry and on improvement of the framework conditions for cooperation of  industrial enterprises, in particular, small and medium-sized enterprises.

"President Petro Poroshenko oulined industrialization among the key vectors of Ukraine's development in order to continue the transformation of the economy from a raw material-oriented to high-tech innovative industrial model. Over the past three years, we have already held 18 meetings of working groups on cooperation in civil aviation and space research, support of small and medium-sized enterprises and reform of the public procurement system, removal of technical barriers, etc. We spare no effort to become a part of the big European industrial family", Stepan Kubiv stressed.

The First Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the Government continues to implement  far-reaching reforms  that have already ensured growth of economic indicators and positions of Ukraine in the ease of doing business ranking.

"The real GDP has been demonstrating growth for three consecutive years - in 2018 its upturn amounted to 3.2%. Industrial production accelerated to 1.6%, compared with 0.4% in 2017. There are already  enterprises specializing in the manufacture of electronics and wiring for cars for export to the EU countries. 75% of electric harnesses for cars all over Europe are manufactured in Ukraine. Cable networks are supplied to the factories of 11 EU countries, where they complete the models of world brands", Stepan Kubiv noted.

The First Deputy Prime Minister placed a special emphasis on importance of winding up all procedures for the signing of the Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA).

"Due to the active cooperation within the framework of the industrial dialogue, we came very close to the conclusion of the ACAA Agreement, which is one of the priority directions of the economic bloc of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, and will greatly facilitate access to the EU markets," Stepan Kubiv underscored.