By Ali Atar
ISTANBUL (AA) – Ukraine expects early signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with Turkey, Ukrainian economy minister said on Wednesday.
“This agreement will cover the bilateral economic ties for the next 30-50 years as it is a long-term program, ” said Stepan Kubiv, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and minister of economic development and trade.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of Turkey-Ukraine Business Forum organized by the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), Kubiv said Ukrainian and Turkish businessmen established a platform with active participation of the chamber of commerce of both countries, which aims more quick and effective solution of the trade-related problems.
“We can perform value-added projects together with Turkey, and have partnership in other countries on areas such as infrastructure, machinery and renewable energy, ” he added.
Gonca Isik Yilmaz Batur, the deputy minister of trade, said the amount of Turkish businessmen’s investment in Ukraine is around $3 billion, adding that the Turkish businessmen participated in Ukraine’s 159 “prestigious projects ” worth $6 billion.
Batur also noted that the private-public sector cooperation will bring a new dimension to the bilateral trade relations.
“We aim to increase the trade between Turkey and Ukraine to $10 billion by 2023, ” Batur said.
Rasim Bekmezci, Head of the Turkey-Ukraine Business Council of DEIK, said that the free trade agreement is very important to increase the trade volume between the countries and prevent unfair competition.