A senior Ukraine official has described the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as strategically important, according to Xinhua.
"The mechanisms of the contract would help Ukraine's companies expand into the CIS, the country's biggest trading partner and market," National Security and Defense Council (UNSDC) Secretary Andriy Kluyev was quoted by the council's press service as saying Thursday.
The practical cooperation between Ukraine and the CIS within the FTA had already yielded fruitful results, Kluyev said.
He said the deal between Kiev and Moscow would bring an additional 400 million U.S. dollars to Ukraine's coffers.
Statistics show two-way trade between Ukraine and CIS countries amounted to 72 billion dollars in 2011.
