Victor Yushchenko has met with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Copenhagen, according to the President`s press-office.
The two leaders first met one-one-one and then chaired Ukrainian-Danish talks. They spoke about how to develop ties between the two countries.
“We appreciate our intensive political and business relationship,” he told reporters during a joint press conference with the premier. “Our countries have no political problems impeding the progress of our relations.” He added that Ukraine and Denmark cooperated both bilaterally and internationally.
Their talks focused mainly on Ukraine’s ambition to sign an enhanced cooperation agreement with the EU, as well as its role on Europe’s energy market. They also spoke about economic issues, especially when Ukraine will join the WTO and sign a free trade agreement with the EU. “I am convinced Ukraine and its European partners will go through the difficult phase of WTO membership and will start free trade talks [soon],” he said.
The Danish premier expressed hopes Ukraine would become a full member of the World Trade Organization this year and sign the agreement on free trade with the EU in 2008. He said this document would “open up new vistas” for Ukraine’s integration into the European energy market and characterized Ukraine’s cooperation with the EU as “mutually beneficial.”
Speaking about achievements in Ukrainian-Danish relations, the President praised today’s agreement between the two countries to liberalize visa requirements. He described it as a “significant breakthrough.”
He then said it was important to develop investment and agricultural cooperation.
“We appreciate the presence of Danish investors in this sector of the national economy,” he said, adding that Denmark was the biggest investor in Ukraine’s agriculture.
The Trans-dniester conflict and ways to resolve it were at the top of their international agenda.
Victor Yushchenko invited Mr. Rasmussen and Queen Margrethe II to visit Ukraine.
Economy Minister Volodymyr Makukha, Agriculture Minister Yuriy Melnyk, National Bank Chairman Volodymyr Stelmakh, First Deputy Energy Minister Vadym Chuprun, Deputy Secretariat Chief of Staff Oleksandr Chalyy, MP Anatoly Kinakh and Ukraine’s Ambassador to Denmark Natalya Zarudna took part in the talks.
