Ukraine and Turkey mark the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership this year and are ready for further development of bilateral relations. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a joint statement with President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the media following a meeting of the Strategic Council of Ukraine and Turkey.
"We share a common vision of the situation and are ready to act together for the happy common future of our countries. And all this was once again confirmed by our meeting today," the Head of the Ukrainian State said.
He added: “The range of issues and the intensity of our bilateral dialogue show that this partnership exists not in words. In fact it is backed by real actions and real victories. I am confident that all the agreements we reached today will be successful".
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for his part, noted that all aspects of the strategic partnership between the two countries were considered at today's meeting of the High-Level Strategic Council, and Turkey reaffirms its desire to continue it, as stated in the Joint Declaration.
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, considerable attention was paid to trade and economic relations between the two countries during the talks.
"Further liberalization of bilateral trade is important for us, and the signing of a Free Trade Agreement can significantly increase its volume. At the same time, we understand that this is a responsible step and it should be taken in accordance with the national interests of each party," said the President of Ukraine, noting that the parties agreed to conduct a substantive audit of all contentious issues by relevant institutions to find a mutual compromise that will pave the way for the signing of this important document.
In this context, the President of Turkey noted: the fact that the volume of trade relations between the two countries has not decreased despite the pandemic indicates that our economies are complementary. He expressed hope for the signing of a Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and the Republic of Turkey as soon as possible, which will allow to achieve the common goal and increase trade volume to $ 10 billion.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called tourism an important aspect of economic and personal relations between Ukraine and Turkey, which was also discussed today. He expressed confidence that through mass vaccination and the creation of a safe tourism certificate system, the parties will be able to ensure the highest level of health safety for guests and tourists.
The President of Ukraine also told his Turkish counterpart and the participants of the meeting of the Strategic Council about promising areas for Turkish investments in Ukraine. First of all, he noted the opportunities provided by "large-scale privatization, in particular in the part of seaports". Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reminded that the Ukrainian government recently approved a list of priority investment projects until 2023, including large-scale projects in the fields of infrastructure, transport, construction of airports and roads.
Also, according to the President of Ukraine, cooperation in the energy sphere was discussed. The Head of State called cooperation in the field of defense industry, which, in his opinion, has significant prospects, the locomotive of the strategic partnership between the two countries. The issue of cooperation in the field of aircraft construction was also raised - the implementation of specific projects, the creation of joint ventures, exchange of experience and technology.
Separately Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the manifestation of mutual support between the citizens of Ukraine and Turkey. He recalled the accident of the Arvin dry cargo vessel off the coast of Turkey, which occurred on January 17 this year. At that time, the Turkish coast guard rescued five Ukrainians - members of the crew, for which the Turkish rescuers were awarded state awards of Ukraine.
"This is just one of thousands of episodes of our common history, friendship and special spirit of Ukrainian-Turkish relations," the Ukrainian President said and thanked Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the friendly and hospitable welcome. He also congratulated the President of Turkey and the entire Muslim community on the month of Ramadan, which will begin in a few days.
The President of Turkey is hopeful that today's talks will be fruitful and thanked President Zelenskyy for the visit to his country.
