Today, April 8, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine/ Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv and First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Maxym Nefiodov held a regular press conference on key achievements in 2016-2018, in particular in the direction of international trade.

Stepan Kubiv emphasized that one of the biggest achievements of Ukraine since 2014 is the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, which became the main trading partner of Ukraine, which almost completely compensated for the lost Russian market.

"Today, the EU share in the export of Ukrainian goods and services is 42.6% and is constantly growing. In 2018, we began to export by 15% more goods to the EU, and in 2013, the EU accounted for 26.5% of all exported goods. It made up USD 16.8 billion, and in 2018 – USD 20.2 billion. In 2013, Russia accounted for 23.7%. Now the share of the Russian Federation makes up 7.7% and is constantly reducing", said Stepan Kubiv.

Moreover, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine stressed that in 2016-2018, work on expanding the capabilities of Ukrainian business was underway.

"Only during these two years, we have concluded two Free Trade Agreements with Canada and Israel, have expanded the opportunities for trade for Ukrainian exporters. Thus, in 2018, the business exported to Canada by 55% more goods than in 2017. In addition, we have created an ecosystem of support for Ukrainian exporters, which includes the Export Promotion Office with numerous trade missions, the International Trade Council, and the future Export Credit Agency", Stepan Kubiv told.