A number of agreements were signed in the presence of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Kyiv on Tuesday, the press service of the Ukrainian president has reported.
In particular, the sides signed a protocol on the exchange of instruments of ratification of an agreement dated May 12, 1997 between Ukraine and Belarus on their state borders.
In addition, the sides signed an agreement between the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus on cooperation in the protection and sustainable use of cross-border protected areas.
The agreement aims to create the necessary legal conditions for ensuring the protection and sustainable use of natural areas and objects in cross-border protected areas through coordinated and concerted actions in Ukraine and Belarus.
The sides also signed an agreement between the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine and the Ministry of Forestry of Belarus on cooperation in the field of forestry. The agreement will help establish key areas and forms of cooperation between the parties in sustainable forest management and ensure the comprehensive use of timber and non-timber resources, taking into account the interests of all groups of the population, without causing damage to the ecological functions of forests and their biodiversity.
In addition, the countries signed an agreement between the State Inspectorate of Ukraine for the Protection of Consumer Rights and the Ministry of Trade of Belarus on the main areas of cooperation in the protection of consumer rights. The agreement defines key directions of cooperation between the parties in the protection of consumer rights.
They also signed a protocol between the administration of the State Border Service of Ukraine and the State Border Committee of Belarus on the exchange of information about the situation on the border between the two countries.
The need to sign the protocol is triggered by ongoing organizational and personnel changes at the State Border Committee of Belarus and a change in the format of the exchange of information, in particular, information about detected counterfeits of documents required for crossing the state border, profiles of characteristic features of offenses, as well as the holding of joint analytical research in the field of border security.
The protocol will coordinate the efforts of the state border agencies of Ukraine and Belarus in countering the illegal movement across the Ukrainian-Belarusian state border of individuals, vehicles, goods and other property.
