KYIV, 25 February (BelTA) – President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is expected to meet with Ukraine’s newly incumbent president Viktor Yanukovich in Kyiv on 25 February. In 2008-2009 Belarus-Ukraine political relations have been developing rather rapidly. The two countries had an intensive bilateral dialogue at the top level in this period. In 2009 alone the presidents of Belarus and Ukraine met four times: in Chernihiv in January, in Gomel in May, at the session of the CIS Heads of State Council in Chisinau in October and in Kyiv in November. Intergovernmental, interparliamentary, interregional and interagency cooperation develops vigorously. Ukraine is one of the main trade partners of Belarus. In 2009 Belarus-Ukraine trade went down by 39% in comparison with 2008 to $2.98 billion, with the export as large as $1.69 billion. At present in Ukraine there are over 100 units of Belarus’ commodity distribution network, with the number on the rise. In 2009 five joint ventures were set up and five proprietary shops were opened to sell Belarusian garments and crystal wares. In addition, in Ukraine there are four facilities assembling MTZ tractors and lifts. Belarus mainly imports Ukrainian intermediary and investment goods (over 90% of the total import from Ukraine). Those are components and parts for machines, metal products, oilcakes and sunflower oil used to make combined fodder, paints and varnishes, gas turbines, railway cars.

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