FTA with Turkey will help attract investments, rebuild Ukraine - ambassador

Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar said this in a comment to Ukrinform.

"Thanks to the free trade agreement with Turkey, Ukrainian manufacturers of industrial and partly agricultural products will have opportunities to access the rather closed Turkish market. The agreement will make it possible to attract Turkish investments and create industrial parks that are progressively developing in Turkey, as well as to involve Turkish businesses in the reconstruction of Ukraine," Bodnar said.

According to the diplomat, the creation of industrial parks in Ukraine following the example of Turkey is important for Ukraine's reconstruction and the country's transformation into a powerful industrial state.

"Here we are talking about satisfying our own needs and about the possibility of supplying finished products, products with added value, so that it is not only wheat and sunflower oil, but also products with significant added value 'made in Ukraine'," the diplomat added.

Earlier reports said that the Turkish parliament completed the ratification of the free trade agreement between Ukraine and Turkey at the beginning of August this year. A memorandum was earlier signed at the level of the two countries' trade and economy ministries on the possibility of revising the provisions of the agreement in the area of greater liberalization, taking into account the changes caused by large-scale Russian aggression.

"As of today, the ratification procedures in our parliament are being completed. And we hope that we will ratify the free trade agreement with Turkey in the near future. Then we will have the opportunity to organize a high-level visit to exchange ratification documents and the agreement will enter into force," Bodnar said.

He added that after the completion of the ratification procedure, a trade committee, headed by deputy economy and trade ministers, would be set up to analyze the implementation of the agreement and submit relevant proposals to the governments for its renewal or improvement, including due to limited logistics capabilities caused by Russia's war against Ukraine.

The diplomat recalled that according to the free trade agreement with Turkey, more than 90% of Ukrainian industrial goods and about 8% of agricultural goods would be subject to the zero duty rate. For certain product groups, particularly those not covered by the initial zero rate, transitional periods have been established. After the end of the transition periods of three to seven years, Turkey will cancel import duties for another 1.5% of industrial goods and for 28.5% of agricultural goods.

The free trade agreement was signed on February 3, 2022, during the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Ukraine. Erdogan approved the agreement and its annexes on August 1 of this year. The notification of the ratification of the agreement was published in the Official Gazette of Turkey on August 2.