Ukraine PM Groysman pays a visit

Take note – story published 6 years ago

On Thursday 1 March, Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis welcomed Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister of Ukraine, to Rīga for talks about economic cooperation and the security situation.

A statement issued by the government office emphasized business ties and said "The Prime Minister welcomed the fact that Ukraine has removed Latvia from the black list of controlled transfer-pricing countries, which would create serious economic difficulties for Latvian entrepreneurs."

Turnover from trade in goods in 2017 increased by 33% amounting to EUR 264 million. Ukraine ranks the 21st among the foreign trade partners of Latvia and 7th among non-EU countries.

Latvia-Ukraine trade
Latvia-Ukraine trade

As regards security, the Prime Minister reiterated that Latvia strongly supports the sovereignty of Ukraine and its territorial integrity.

"We support Ukraine through its reforms both bilaterally and as a member of the NATO Alliance. Latvia will continue to do so in the future, because we believe that Ukraine is important for the stability and security of the whole of Europe. It is important to find a peaceful, long-term solution to the conflict in the east of Ukraine, but such a solution must fully respect Ukraine's sovereignty and ensure territorial indivisibility," Kučinskis said.

Groysman provided a reminder that acts of aggression were being committed on Ukrainian territory every day as a result of political decisions made in the Kremlin, and that civil rights were also being widely abused in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces.

Asked at a press conference whether the pair had discussed current trouble in the non-resident banking sector, with several Ukrainian connections having emerged in scandals over recent years (such as shady Ukrainian government tenders involving Trasta bank and numerous controversies at the Latvian subsidiary of Ukraine-owned PrivatBank involving North Korea sanctions and a billion-dollar Moldovan scam) Kučinskis admitted it had not been top of their agenda but they intended to discuss the matter at talks later in the day.

"I think we can talk about stronger cooperation so that these sorts of things and dishonest acts between [our] countries' businesses will be completely out of place," Kučinskis told reporters.

Groysman remained in Riga overnight and March 2 met President Raimonds Vējonis at Riga castle.

"We know that reforms are not easy in any country. We call on Ukraine to implement the changes that have begun, because they are of prime importance for the people of Ukraine," said Vējonis after their talks.

 

Seen a mistake?

Select text and press Ctrl+Enter to send a suggested correction to the editor

Select text and press Report a mistake to send a suggested correction to the editor

Related articles

More

Most important