Baltic States – CIS, Energy, EU – Baltic States, EU – CIS, Latvia, Legislation, Markets and Companies, Transport, Ukraine

Andris Berzins and Viktor Yanukovych. Kiev, 14.03.2013. Photo: president.gov.ua

The Ukrainian side appreciated the ongoing support by the Latvian side for Ukraine's European aspirations. The sides agreed that Latvia's experience will be beneficial for Ukraine in this regard, LETA was informed by the Presidential Press Service.

Both sides expressed interest in working towards promoting European values and reaffirmed their joint engagement in Ukraine's political association and economic integration with the EU with a view of signing the already initialed Association Agreement, including on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area in time for the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November 2013.

The presidents agreed to conduct a political dialogue aimed at strengthening respect for democratic principles, rule of law, good governance, human rights and fundamental freedoms. In this context, the presidents exchanged views on the key issues of work of judiciary and the judicial reform, steps to establish a reliable electoral legislation in close consultation with the Council of Europe/the Venice Commission and the OSCE/the ODIHR and advancing Association Agenda reforms, which will be of crucial importance for the pace of political association and economic integration with the EU.

The sides underlined that provisional application of the Association Agreement, in particular, its parts with regard to the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade agreement (DCFTA) between the EU and Ukraine, would be beneficial for the enhancement of bilateral trade between Ukraine and Latvia. The sides reiterated the necessity of improving business climate in order to attract new investments from Europe to Ukraine.

Ukraine’s progress in the implementation of the Action Plan on Visa Liberalization with the EU in the context of the expected finalization of its first phase was noted as well. The presidents reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to the shared objective of visa-free travel between the EU and Ukraine in due course provided that conditions for well-managed and secure mobility set out in the Action Plan on Visa Liberalization are in place.

The presidents discussed the development of the Eastern Partnership and stressed the importance of the third Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November 2013. Both sides emphasized the necessity to acknowledge the European perspective of aspiring partner states as an important incentive for further comprehensive reforms and strengthening of common democratic values, the rule of law, as well as civil society. The presidents looked forward to fruitful discussions on these issues at the Vilnius Summit. The Ukrainian side welcomed Latvia’s intentions to organize the next Eastern Partnership Summit during its presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2015.

The presidents discussed a wide range of issues on mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation and relations at regional and international levels. The heads of state acknowledged the progress achieved in political dialogue at intergovernmental and interparliamentary levels and declared support for the further development of political contacts between Latvia and Ukraine.

The presidents paid primary attention to deepening bilateral economic cooperation, stressing the positive dynamics of the Ukrainian-Latvian trade and overall growth in export and import. The heads of state have confirmed the potential for further increasing bilateral trade and investment and agreed to develop economic cooperation in areas such as transport, information and communication technology, energy, industrial manufacturing and agriculture.

The parties took note on the work of the Intergovernmental Ukrainian-Latvian Commission on Economic, Industrial, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, including the results of its fifth meeting in Riga on July 4-5, 2012. The importance of the next meeting in Kyiv in the first half of 2013 was underlined.

The presidents noted the key role of Ukraine in transit of energy resources to Europe and confirmed readiness for further cooperation in the energy efficiency and energy saving sphere as well as diversification of energy supply.

The heads of state devoted their attention to matters related to transit and logistics and discussed opportunities for further development of railway freight between both countries. The development of the joint container train «ZUBR», the accession of third countries and the geographical extension of its operations in Ukraine were welcomed in this regard. The sides confirmed that railway container transportation linking the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea has a high potential and expressed readiness to cooperate in the elaboration of opportunities for further extension of the current transit route to other countries of the Baltic Sea region and the Black Sea region.

The presidents expressed their willingness to continue close cooperation of Ukraine and Latvia in international and regional organizations with a view to strengthening security and stability globally and in the region. In the context of the declared priorities of Ukraine as OSCE chairmanship, both sides noted their convergence of views on the efforts of the OSCE to resolve protracted conflicts.

The presidents agreed that the cultural identity of persons of Ukrainian descent living in Latvia and of persons of Latvian descent living in Ukraine contribute to the cultural richness of receiving societies. The Ukrainian side positively assessed Latvia's support for ensuring successful work of the Riga Ukrainian Secondary School and functioning of the Ukrainian Literature Division of the Academic Library of the University of Latvia.

Both heads of state noted the importance of scientific, educational, cultural, artistic, informational, sports and youth exchanges and agreed to promote their comprehensive development, including in the framework of the project "Riga – the European Capital of Culture in 2014".