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Ukraine, Israel agree to strengthen trade, economic ties

Xinhua, September 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his visiting Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin vowed here late Tuesday to reverse the falling trade between their countries.

Poroshenko told the press after talks with Rivlin that the two parties have agreed to speed up free trade talks.

"We have agreed to speed up negotiations on establishing a free trade area," Poroshenko said. "I am sure that soon we will demonstrate progress on this issue."

Ukraine and Israel have good prospects to boost cooperation in agriculture, tourism and science and technology, Poroshenko said, inviting Israeli investors to participate in Ukraine's large-scale privatization of state-owned enterprises in 2016-2017.

Rivlin noted that Kiev has made progress in reforming its energy sector, among others.

"These reforms reflect the aspirations of Ukrainians and deserve international recognition," Rivlin said.

Total trade value between Ukraine and Israel fell 3.7 percent year-on-year to 430.3 million U.S. dollars in the first half of 2016, according to official figures from Ukraine. Endi