Opinions & Interviews

KIEV, 21 July (BelTA) – Belarus and Ukraine need to cooperate in entering third-country markets, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Natalia Mikolskaya said at the Belarusian-Ukrainian business forum, BelTA has learned.

“We need to cooperate in selling products to third countries. Ukraine has a free trade zone with EU. A free trade zone with Canada, which takes effect on 1 August, envisages the abolition of 98% of duties. Belarusian companies can team up with partners for the production of goods in Ukraine for the export to third countries,” Natalia Mikolskaya noted.

In her words, Ukrainian companies should also remember that Belarus is part of the Eurasian Economic Union. “Belarus has an agreement with the countries which Ukraine cannot trade with in a free trade mode or has other unsettled issues. It is also an opportunity for our companies to cooperate with Belarusian companies and produce goods for the export to third markets,” she said.

Natalia Mikolskaya stressed that it is important to find areas of common interest for mutually beneficial cooperation.

The trade in services was named another driver for the economic growth of the two countries. “I consider services as another opportunity to develop cooperation between the two countries. The areas of engineering, designing, and architecture are the areas where our companies can enter third markets together by making the use of the existing resources and knowledge. Today’s task is to find the markets that we can win together,” she said.