The third meeting of the Ukrainian-Portuguese Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation is scheduled for November 15, 2024, it was reported on the Ministry of Economy's website on Friday.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the first meeting of the Ukrainian-Portuguese Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation took place on April 3, 2009, in Kyiv. The second meeting was held on June 20, 2018, in Lisbon.
"I am grateful to the Minister of Economy of Portugal for the fact that, after a long break of more than six years, we will hold the third meeting of the Ukrainian-Portuguese Commission on Economic Cooperation. This important decision will allow us to deepen our trade and economic cooperation and attract Portuguese companies to projects for the reconstruction of Ukraine," said Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, as stated in the message.
She noted that dialogue between Ukrainian and Portuguese businesses could facilitate investment attraction and increase trade turnover.
The ministry's message highlighted that by the end of 2023, bilateral trade turnover with Portugal amounted to $293.7 million, marking a 49.4% increase compared to the same period in 2022. Exports of goods from Ukraine also rose, reaching $223.5 million last year (up 64.6% from the previous year).
It is emphasized that growth has continued this year. From January to August 2024, bilateral trade turnover increased by 15.1% or $29.2 million compared to the same period last year.
At the same time, according to the Minister of Economy of Portugal, Pedro Rego, Portuguese companies are showing active interest in cooperating with Ukraine in sectors such as defense, machine engineering, light industry, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, and engineering.
"Portugal is also interested in participating in projects for the reconstruction of Ukraine through its development institutions, such as the Portuguese Development Bank, which is ready to provide funding under the Ukraine Investment Framework. We discussed with partners the priority sectors for Ukraine to attract investments and shared the Investment Guide presented in Berlin during the URC, which contains descriptions of 95 investment projects in priority areas," the ministry quoted Svyrydenko.