Ukraine and Turkey are ready to ratify the Free Trade Agreement

The governments of Ukraine and Turkey are ready to ratify the Free Trade Agreement in the near future. This was discussed during the meeting of the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - the Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyridenko and the newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Levent Bilgen. According to the press service of the Ministry of Economy, after the completion of the ratification procedure, the Agreement will enter into force at the beginning of 2024 and will open new opportunities for duty-free or partially duty-free trade between the two countries.

"The free trade agreement will also simplify the issue of logistics, promote the development of Ukrainian business in wartime conditions, and also open new prospects in Ukraine for our partners from Turkey. In addition, we will establish a Grain Working Group to discuss global and bilateral trade in the grain market. Ukraine highly appreciates Turkey's participation in protecting the grain export initiative, which is an important factor in ensuring global food security," said Svyridenko.

The parties are also ready for a constructive dialogue on expanding economic cooperation, in particular, the initiation of joint projects in priority sectors of the economy. Strategically important sectors for the reconstruction of Ukraine and attraction of private investments are: defense, production and processing of agricultural products, renewable energy, production and storage of gas, green metallurgy, ecological transport, health care and pharmaceuticals.

"Ukrainian entrepreneurs are ready to establish joint business with international partners. Therefore, the Government uses every opportunity to attract additional resources, including for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. A separate important direction is humanitarian demining. We need heavy demining machines, sapper training, anything that will help clear our land as soon as possible. We are open to cooperation and call on international business to come to Ukraine," said Svyridenko.

It should be noted that Romania has decided to support the export of grain from Ukraine by anchoring in the port of Constanta. According to plans, the work should be completed by March 2024. According to Dmytro Moskalenko, the general director of the state shipping company "Ukrainian Danube Shipping", an additional berth for Ukrainian agricultural products is planned to be launched in March next year in Constanta. An agreement on this was reached in Romania at a meeting on increasing the export capacity of Ukrainian ports on the Danube.

The beginning of discussions in this regard took place with Romanian colleagues back in September. Moskalenko emphasized that with the opening of the ports in Odesa, the outflow of agricultural products through the Danube decreased. However, the issue of creating a "reserve" route for the export of agricultural products remains relevant, and the Danube can once again become the main one. According to him, in January and February, the Romanian side plans to hold a tender and develop a regulatory framework for putting the anchorage into operation already in March. It is noted that in parallel with this, an agreement was concluded with Romania on the creation of an online queue for the processing of barges in Constanta, which will contribute to a more predictable performance of works.