President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy notes the interest in greater involvement of Turkish companies in the implementation of infrastructure programs and stands for accelerating the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement with Turkey. He noted this in a statement to the media following the negotiations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul.
According to the President of Ukraine, despite the situation with COVID-19, Ukraine and Turkey have maintained the positive dynamics of bilateral trade.
«Для продовження позитивного тренду ми домовилися прискорити укладання Угоди про вільну торгівлю та вирішити всі проблемні питання, які зараз гальмують такий важливий процес», – наголосив Президент України.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the participation of Turkish companies in large-scale infrastructure projects in Ukraine.
"We already have successful Turkish companies such as Onur and Özaltin. And given the scale of our program called "Large Construction", we seek to expand the range of these projects and the range of these companies," the President of Ukraine stressed.
During the talks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also discussed cooperation between the two countries to ensure energy independence.
"I would like to note that we have a very close vision of the energy challenges of the region with the President," the Ukrainian Head of State said.
The President of Turkey noted mutual willingness to develop economic relations and increase trade. He reminded that during his visit to Ukraine the parties had set a goal to reach the level of 10 billion dollars in bilateral trade.
"Mr. Zelenskyy and I agree that we need to finalize negotiations on a free trade agreement as soon as possible to achieve our goal," Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
In addition, according to him, despite the global pandemic, Turkey was visited by 500,000 tourists from Ukraine, and this demonstrates not only the closeness of the two countries, but also the confidence of Ukrainians in the measures taken by Turkey for security.
