OREANDA-NEWS. June 15, 2009. Belarus and Ukraine have exceptional opportunities for trade, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko noted during her meeting with Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky.

“Our short face-to-face meeting with Sergei Sidorsky opens up great prospects for the cooperation,” Yulia Timoshenko said. The record-high bilateral trade last year shows that Belarus and Ukraine have exceptional opportunities for trade. According to the Ukrainian Premier, the figures this year are not that impressive as last year. At the same time, the Belarusian-Ukrainian financial system of payments in bilateral trade is getting back on track. According to Yulia Timoshenko, this instills hope that the trade will start growing.

Yulia Timoshenko noted the importance of the Belarusian-Ukrainian agreement on cooperation in research and use of the outer space for peaceful purposes. The agreement is expected to be signed in Kyiv on June 12. The document will help both the sides jointly develop new and high technologies.

The Ukrainian Prime Minister expressed hope that the present meeting will help eliminate the problems which exist in the relations including the restrictions on export of Belarusian tyres to Ukraine. The relative document is expected to be signed as well.

Sergei Sidorsky and Yulia Timoshenko also discussed the restrictions on supplies of Belarusian agricultural machinery to Ukraine. The Ukrainian side has assured that these restrictions will be removed.

The Ukrainian Premier highly praised the work of the bilateral intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation. The commission has helped the two sides establish good contacts and maintain an ongoing dialogue. The trade and economic cooperation of Belarus and Ukraine has good prospects.