Ukraine, Belarus to boost trade, economic ties

Ukraine and Belarus will boost trade and economic ties, the two countries' senior economic officials said Thursday at an intergovernmental meeting on commerce and trade. The 20th session of the Belarusian-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission on Commerce and Trade (ICCT), which grouped more than 10 officials from the two countries, was co-chaired by Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Klyuyev and his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Semashko. Klyuyev, who is also the economic development and trade minister, said trade volume between the two nations had surpassed 4.5 billion U.S. dollars in the first nine months of this year, up 41 percent. "We are determined to boost that figure to as high as 6 billion dollars until year end," Klyuyev said. Semashko said the two countries should take a long-term perspective in viewing bilateral economic ties. "Cooperation with Ukraine in the fields of engineering, agriculture, ecology, science and technology is a priority for Belarus," Semashko said. During the meeting, the two ministers discussed issues of bilateral cooperation in agriculture, transport, energy and healthcare.