Eurasian Economic Commission signs memorandum on trade cooperation with Ukraine

Minister for Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Andrei Slepnev and Ukrainian Economic Development and Trade Minister Petro Poroshenko have initialed the text of a memorandum on trade cooperation between the EEC and the Ukrainian government, the commission's press service has reported.

The memorandum envisages the creation of a coordinating group for a "dialog on trade issues" under the leadership of ministers responsible for trade.

"We're pleased that the EEC has for the first time established this kind of regular and systematic dialog with Ukraine, a key trade and economic partner of the Customs Union," the press service quoted Slepnev as saying.

"We're confident that regular meetings between trade ministers will promote the development of cooperation and help remove existing trade barriers and prevent new ones appearing in future," he added.

During the dialog, the parties intend to cooperate to improve the transparency and predictability of the existing administrative and regulatory systems, as well as find quick and effective mutually acceptable solutions to problematic issues. The sides also say they intend to cooperate in the exchange of statistical data on the dynamics of trade and investment flows between the Customs Union and Ukraine and exchange information on measures influencing trade.