OREANDA-NEWS. April 20, 2010. Owing to the joint projects including the industrial cooperation the trade between Belarus and Ukraine can be increased 1.5-2 times in the near future. First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko and Head of the Ukraine Government Nikolai Azarov stated this during their meeting in Kyiv, reported the Official website government.by.

According to the Ukrainian Prime Minister, the Ukrainian market is in need of agricultural machinery. The Ukrainian side is interested in the new mutually beneficial projects in Belarus, Nikolai Azarov noted.

The Belarusian and Ukrainian sides intend to set up a joint company to assemble combine harvesters on the premises of the Kherson Machine Building Plant, use the products of the Novokramotorsk Machine Building Plant that produces up-to-date metallurgical equipment, construct an iron-and- steel works in Belarus.

The sides show an interest in developing the cooperation not only in agricultural machinery but automobile production, production of municipal transport.

The current session of the Belarusian-Ukrainian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation may be considered as serious preparations for the visit of Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych to Belarus, said Belarus First Vice Premier Vladimir Semashko at the opening of the session in Kyiv.

The government groups have to work out a package of documents on Belarus-Ukraine bilateral cooperation for their adoption at the top level before the Ukrainian head of state’s visit to Minsk.

The 18th session of the commission testifies that there is a systematic approach in the operation of the governments of the two countries, remarked Viktor Semashko. In 2008 Belarus-Ukraine trade reached USD5 billion. In 2009 the crisis affected the economies of the two countries. But major changes towards growth were felt early this year. According to provisional data, in Q1 2010 the trade turnover reached USD 868 million, providing solid foundation to believe that the trade volume may reach USD 3 billion in 2010.
Vladimir Semashko believes that it is important that Belarus and Ukraine have agreed to advance to a radically new level of bilateral manufacturing cooperation. Apart from the bilateral trade in Belarusian and Ukrainian commodities the level provides for supplying Belarusian and Ukrainian products to third countries. “We should use the potential Ukraine has as a WTO member and Belarus’ market as a Customs Union member,” he stressed.

In turn, Ukraine’s First Vice Premier Andrei Kluyev remarked that the achieved pace and periodicity of the meetings at the governmental level testify to the importance of negotiations aimed at developing Belarus-Ukraine trade relations. “We should find a common approach and agreement regarding several complicated but resolvable issues in the bilateral economic relations,” stressed Andrei Kluyev.

Belarus and Ukraine have agreed to expand the bilateral cooperation. These are the results of the 18th session of the Belarusian-Ukrainian commission for trade and economic cooperation which was held in Kyiv.

The sides have agreed to finish the creation of the joint company between the Kryukov Railway Car Building Works (Ukraine) and the Gomel Railway Car Repair Works (Belarus) to produce passenger and freight cars, increase the production of specialized municipal vehicles at the Kyiv municipal machinery works "KOMMASH" and the Drogobych Crane Trucks Plant, produce Ukrainian minibuses Bogdan at the Gomel AutoRemZavod.

Belarus and Ukraine will continue the joint participation in energy projects, development of alternative energy sources and the cooperation in supplies of electric energy.

Belarus and Ukraine intend to increase the goods traffic by the combined trains Viking and Zubr, attract freights from the Scandinavian countries, South Europe, Central Asia, Transcaucasia and Middle East to establish competitive tariffs on transportation of oil products, ferrous metals, potash fertilizers and construction materials.

The Belarusian and Ukrainian sides have shared the information about the current state and prospects of the bilateral cooperation, creation of joint companies in the area of machine building, agribusiness, transport, construction and architecture, science and technology, fuel and energy industry.

The implementation of the measures stipulated in the intergovernmental memorandum on intensification of the bilateral relations amid the global financial and economic crisis had a positive impact on the state of the trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Ukraine. The document was signed in Chernigov on 2 June 2009.

After the session of the Belarusian-Ukrainian commission for trade and economic cooperation, the heads of the Belarusian and Ukrainian delegations have signed the protocol which includes all the reached agreements.

A regular session of the commission will be held in Belarus in H2 2010.