REUTERS
Ukraine is holding the fourth round of talks with Israel on a free trade zone, considering this state a promising partner in agriculture, energy, IT, industrial production, and tourism, according to the Economy Ministry's press service.
"Ukraine and the State of Israel are holding in Kyiv the fourth round of talks on a free trade zone agreement. The sides seek to achieve a shared vision and agree on common approaches to trade preferences for agricultural and industrial products. Ukraine considers Israel as a promising trade and investment partner in such areas as agriculture, energy, industrial production, IT, tourism, etc.," the ministry's press service said.
Commenting on the talks, Ukraine’s Trade Envoy Natalia Mykolska noted that it was too early to talk about the deadline for negotiations, adding that the ongoing dialogue was very intense and result-oriented.
"We hope that the current round of talks will also be effective and will help to advance in the identification of mutually beneficial agreements," Mykolska said, noting that Ukraine is extremely interested in the duty-free exports of its agricultural and engineering products to Israel.
Read alsoUkraine seeks to deepen trade ties with China in 2017As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine and Israel planned to complete FTA negotiations in late 2016. However, the negotiation process dragged on to this year for a number of reasons.
Read alsoUkraine, Israel may sign FTA deal in 2017According to the Economic Development Ministry, the main items of Ukrainian exports to Israel are cereals (44.1%), ferrous metals (26.4%), and foodstuffs (9.8%), while the main items of Ukrainian imports from Israel are petrochemical products (41.4%), chemical products (17.4%), as well as plastics and polymeric materials (7.1%).