Ukrainian, Slovenian Prime Ministers Discuss Bilateral Relations, EU Integration

Muhammad Irfan Published September 10, 2021 | 05:30 PM

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th September, 2021) The prime ministers of Ukraine and Slovenia, Denis Shmyhal and Janez Jansa, discussed the European integration of Ukraine and the deepening of bilateral relations, particularly in the areas of economy and trade, the press service of the Ukrainian government said on Friday.

The prime ministers met during the annual XXX Economic Forum in Poland. Shmyhal congratulated Slovenia on the beginning of its presidency in the EU Council and noted that Ukraine looked forward to the successful completion of the full Ukraine-EU agenda.

"Ukraine seeks to strengthen and develop the Eastern Partnership through the implementation of concrete and effective projects. We are looking forward to the successful holding of the EU-Ukraine summit in October this year and to Slovenia's support in renewing the trade part of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union," Shmyhal stated.

The Ukrainian prime minister expressed the hope that Slovenia would help with expediting the agreement between Kiev and the EU on the Common Aviation Area.

Shmyhal also noted that one of the important stages of Ukraine's integration into Europe is the synchronization of the Ukrainian energy system with the European ENTSO-E network.

"Our goal is to disconnect from Belarusian and Russian energy systems and synchronize with the European energy network in 2023," Shmyhal said.

In addition, the prime ministers discussed the development of trade and economic relations between the states. Shmyhal presented a proposal to hold the ninth meeting of the Joint Ukrainian-Slovenian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

In December 2014, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine amended two laws by renouncing the non-aligned status of the state. In June 2016, Kiev made additional changes, which define Ukrainian accession to NATO as a goal of the country's foreign policy. In February 2019, the Ukrainian parliament adopted constitutional amendments which signaled the country's commitment to integration into the EU and NATO.