Ukraine and Turkey, which have been negotiating the creation of a free trade zone since 2012, hope to finally sign an agreement in February 2022. This was announced by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba.
“Currently, a number of agreements and documents are being prepared for the Strategic Council next year. Both sides view the meeting in February 2022 as an opportunity to finally sign the long-awaited Turkish-Ukrainian free trade agreement after many years of negotiations”, Kuleba wrote in his article.
The Minister stressed that the entry into force of the free trade agreement will significantly strengthen the already strong trade ties between the two Black Sea states and will contribute to the establishment of new business ties.
The start of negotiations on a free trade agreement between Ukraine and Turkey took place back in 2012. After that, forecasts for its signing date were constantly postponed.
The text of the agreement itself was almost completely agreed upon back in 2019, however, unfinalized issues remained between the countries regarding several types of goods, in particular, raw materials for metallurgy, black steel products, products of textile, clothing and footwear industry.