Government preparing for launching free trade zone between Ukraine and Britain

The Government of Ukraine is implementing a set of procedures required for the ratification of the Agreement on Political Cooperation, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership between Ukraine and the United Kingdom and for the full launch of a free trade zone between the two countries from January 1, 2021.

Deputy Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine - Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka said this following a round table meeting on the development of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Great Britain, the ministry´s press service reports.

"The signed Agreement between our countries will help improve the balance and structure of bilateral trade and open new opportunities for the development of Ukrainian-British partnership," said Kachka.

During the nine months of 2020, the trade turnover between the countries exceeded USD 1 billion, of which USD 452.1 million was received from exports of Ukrainian goods.

According to Kachka, Ukraine has proved that it is a reliable and predictable trading partner that exports a wide range of agricultural products to foreign markets, including the United Kingdom.

The round table meeting was also attended by Minister for European Neighbourhood and the Americas at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Wendy Morton (UK), Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva and international experts.

The parties expressed interest in establishing an informal dialogue involving representatives of the government bodies and business circles of Ukraine and the United Kingdom to find common solutions to issues such as logistics and transit, investment protection, strengthening bilateral trade cooperation, attracting investment in agriculture etc.

As reported by Ukrinform, on October 8, 2020, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson signed an Agreement on Political Cooperation, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership between the countries.

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