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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Trade between Serbia, Ukraine grows

Belgrade, 2 July 2007

Serbian Minister of Trade and Services Predrag Bubalo said today that trade exchange between Serbia and the Ukraine has been growing constantly in the past five years, but that the problem is a very big deficit on the Serbian side in the amount of $165.7 million.

At a session of the Ukrainian section, held at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Bubalo said that according to data of the Serbian Statistical Office, the trade exchange between the two countries in 2001 was $89 million, and by 2006 $412 million, which is an increase of almost five times.

He explained that the export to the Ukraine accounts for 1.9% of total exports, the largest exporters being the companies Tarkett from Backa Palanka, Gosa FOM, Hemofarm from Vrsac and US Steel Serbia.

Bubalo said that it is necessary to sign an interstate agreement on free trade in order to improve economic cooperation with the Ukraine.

Other step would be to initiate the work of the interstate mixed committee for trade, economic and scientific cooperation of Serbia and the Ukraine, which have not had meetings for a long time.

Bubalo also called on companies from Ukraine to participate in privatisation of Serbian companies, stressing that there is a need for interregional cooperation as well as for cooperation between the two capital cities.

Foreign Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk recalled that relations between Serbia and Ukraine have for a long period been frozen noting that it has been decided to intensify bilateral cooperation.

Yatsenyuk said that 21 draft agreements between Serbia and Ukraine are being examined in order to choose a set of ten priority agreements that should be signed by the year’s end.

He also congratulated Serbia on resuming negotiations with the EU and invited companies from Serbia to invest in Ukraine, noting that GDP growth in Ukraine in 2006 was 6% standing at over $106 billion.