OREANDA-NEWS.  February 12, 2014. Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Kostyantyn Gryshchenko held a meeting of Ukrainian part of the joint Ukrainian-Israeli Commission for trade and economic cooperation.

At the beginning of the meeting K. Gryshchenko stressed there existed the need to stir up elaboration of understandings achieved during the last sitting of the Commission by the responsible ministries and departments and focus attention on certain projects between the two states which would afford to increase the trade turnover.

“Among the principal issues of today’s agenda must be the search of effective ways to improve trade and economic relations between the countries, ensure their further development in the long run and increase them by means of diversification. Realization of just concrete projects with Israel is the basis for enlargement of trade turnover between our countries and deepening of existing relations,” the Vice Premier of Ukraine emphasized.

In the opinion of K. Gryshchenko, presently the key issues in trade and economic relations with Israel appears further negotiation process on concluding Free Trade Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of Israel, mutual approval of the Framework Agreement on financial cooperation between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of Israel (financial protocol).

“A series of other important issues remain in front of us, those demanding to be considered and solved. In particular, it concerns the search of opportunities to attract Israeli party to realization of investment projects in infrastructure and communal economy, cooperation in agriculture, which is also a key sphere of bilateral relations, industry, energy, tourism, protection of economic competitiveness, reducing of the existing tariffs for international roaming by mobile operators of the two countries, support of entrepreneurship, use of water resources, environmental protection and social maintenance,” K. Gryshchenko stressed.

Peculiar attention was paid to the importance to develop cooperation in healthcare and medicine, recreation tourism.