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EU vows stepped-up trade ties with Eastern partners

Xinhua, May 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

European Union (EU) trade ministers confirmed their readiness to work on strengthened, but differentiated, trade relations with each of the Eastern partners in a meeting Thursday.

The first Eastern Partnership Ministerial Meeting on Trade was organized by the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU in cooperation with the European Commission.

The statement issued after the meeting said the EU trade ministers and their Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Georgian, Moldovan and Ukrainian counterparts met to discuss the achievements of the Eastern Partnership in the area of trade, as well as the opportunities and challenges to the further development.

"Trade is an essential dimension of our partnership with our eastern neighbors", said Edgars Rinkevics, Latvia's minister of foreign affairs, "Today's meeting was a first step in a process that will contribute to strengthened cooperation, taking account of the diverse interests of our partners with regard to their trade relations with the EU."

In light of the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga and the ongoing European Neighbourhood Policy review, EU trade ministers exchanged views on current trade relations between the EU and Eastern partners.

The ministers welcomed the start of the implementation of Association Agreements to deepen political and economic relations between Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. Endit