On July 23, Ukrainian business and government delegations led by First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine/Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv arrived to Israel with a sectoral trade mission. This is the second trade mission organized by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Export Promotion Office for Ukrainian exporters. The visit is aimed to open up new opportunities in the Israeli market for Ukrainian companies in the IT and furniture industries. While on the visit the participating companies will better understand and study the Israeli market, establish direct business contacts with potential Israeli partners.

"The Government continues to open up new promising markets for Ukrainian exports. One of those is the market of Israel, which imports a lot - to the tune of $ 69.1 billion in 2017. An important instrument for strengthening trade with Israel will be the Free Trade Agreement and our target is to show the Ukrainian business how to use the new opportunities and to clarify the potential of trade and economic cooperation", emphasized Stepan Kubiv.

"We have great potential to increase bilateral trade and export of our goods and services to the Israeli market. Only in the first five months of this year, exports of Ukrainian goods to Israel amounted to $ 297.3 million and increased by $ 15.9 million compared with the same period of 2017. Also, for the information and communication technology sector represented by 5 IT companies in this trade mission, we develop a sectoral strategy together with businesses", said Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Trade Representative of Ukraine Natalia Mykolska.

According to the Head of the Export Promotion Office Mariana Kaganjak, this mission is a real opportunity to better understand the market and find potential partners: "Each of the 15 participating companies will conduct several B2B meetings organized by a professional Israeli business consultant. We expect more than 70 business negotiations. This will allow companies to better understand the needs of the market and their potential customers, as well as to establish useful contacts that can then grow into contracts", said Mariana Kaganjak.

The trade mission program, which will last until July 25, apart from business meetings with representatives of Israeli business circles in the B2B format, envisages meetings with the Embassy of Ukraine in Israel, the Ukrainian Diaspora, the Israeli Ukrainian Alliance, the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce and Industry, as well as exchange of experience with the most successful Israeli companies in the IT and furniture industries. The program is being implemented by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and is funded under the EU4Business initiative of the European Union.