www.visit-astana.kz
The launch of a free trade zone between Ukraine and the EU, as well as Kazakhstan's admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will create additional opportunities for boosting cooperation between Kyiv and Astana, according to the Ukrainian presidential press service, which refers to a meeting of President Petro Poroshenko with Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Massimov.
Ukrainian companies will be able to actively participate in the implementation of a number of Kazakh projects, namely in construction, mechanical engineering, oil and gas, and agriculture, the press service said.
The press service reported that the Ukrainian president had welcomed Kazakhstan's membership in the WTO.
The parties also discussed the progress of reforms implementation in their countries and a number of infrastructure projects, particularly in the construction, oil and gas, agriculture and mechanical engineering sectors, which could involve Ukrainian companies, according to the press service.
The parties paid special attention to the issue of diversifying gas supplies to Ukraine, broadening of cooperation in the transport area, namely, participation in the "Silk Road Economic Belt" project along the Western China – Western Europe route.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is on an official two-day visit to Kazakhstan. The Ukrainian-Kazakh business forum is scheduled for today, October 9, which will be attended by Poroshenko and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev.
According to the State Statistics Service, trade between Ukraine and Kazakhstan amounted to $554.1 million in the first half of this year, and the trade surplus stood at $237 million. The figures are slightly lower as compared with 2014.