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Ukrainian PM prioritizes industrial cooperation with Russia

He believes that 2014 should become “a crucial year” for the Ukrainian economy

© EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

KIEV, January 10. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said his government would focus on three key tasks this and subsequent years: industrial cooperation with Russia, accelerated development of the national economy, and the commencement of talks on association with the European Union.

He believes that 2014 should become “a crucial year” for the Ukrainian economy. “Either we embark on the path of deep modernization of the economy with no turning back or we get drowned in political disputes,” he said at the first meeting of the government in this year on Thursday, January 9.

He stressed the need to launch industrial cooperation programs with Russia from the beginning of February. These programs “will give us hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the next couple of years and guarantees for the budgets of all levels. We will get financial resources for the development of the domestic market,” he said.

The prime minister also believes it necessary for “the free trade area in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) to keep working” as its importance for the Ukrainian economy “can hardly be overestimated.”

These programs cost “tens of billions of U.S. dollars and even more. This is the future of our key industries, especially now that our industry has a chance for development with new gas prices that have become possible due to the agreements reached by our president,” Azarov said.

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