Photo from UNIAN
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman says that Ukraine and Central Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, should look for ways to tackle logistics challenges in trade caused by Russia's transit blockade.
"I think neither you nor Ukraine is happy with trade figures we've got today. We are aware of existing logistic challenges, which have been created artificially, but we have to find a solution enabling us to revitalize our trade relations and develop interaction between our businesses. I am convinced there are exact areas where we can find the right solution," Groysman said at a meeting with ambassadors of the abovementioned countries in Kyiv.
Further, Groysman noted that the current situation should be addressed at the highest level.
"As you know, we raised the level of intergovernmental commissions in late August. This signals that it is very important to us that the level of decision-making is high enough to ensure that decisions are effectively implemented," the prime minister said.
In turn, Ambassador of Turkmenistan Nurberdy Amanmuradov, representing the position of the ambassadors who were present at the meeting, expressed readiness to cooperate with Ukraine with a view of improving transport corridors to boost trade.
He noted that Turkmenistan would host an international transport and transit forum, which was especially important in terms of trade and economic relations. He also pointed to optional transport routes through the Ukrainian port of Odesa, or Baku, Turkmenbashi and Aktau.
Additionally, the ambassador said Turkmenistan was implementing a large-scale infrastructure project with Afghanistan, which could also be used for transit.
Read alsoFrom China to Ukraine: The new Silk RoadAs UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian exports to Central Asian countries fell by 35.5% in January-July 2016 due to Russia's transit restrictions. The steepest decline was registered in exports to Kazakhstan – down by 45%. On September 15, Ukraine initiated a procedure with the World Trade Organization to challenge the decision of the Russian government to ban transit shipments of Ukrainian goods through Russian territory.
Eight members of G20, namely, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Turkey, Switzerland, and South Korea supported Ukraine's position.
Mutual trade restrictions were introduced by Ukraine and Russia in January 2016 because a free trade area was launched between Ukraine and the European Union. Exports of Ukrainian goods to Russia were considerably limited in winter, which was followed by a complete embargo on food shipments from Ukraine to Russia. In July 2016, Russia imposed additional restrictions on transit supplies of Ukrainian goods through its territory, heading for third countries, mainly Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.