Ukraine and Turkey will implement a passport-free travel regime between the two countries. Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman made the announcement prior to a trip to Ankara to finalize the details.
“An important step will be taken during my visit to Turkey,” Groysman told Anadolu Agency Friday, reported IBTimes. “Ukrainian citizens can travel to Turkey and Turkish citizens can travel to Ukraine with their national [identity cards] thanks to an agreement that will be signed between the governments of Ukraine and Turkey,” Groysman said. “Ukrainians know very well Turkey and Turkey’s tourism opportunities. When we remove the obstacles, the tourist flow will increase.”
For its part, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that only national identity cards will be necessary to cross the boarder between the two nations.
In addition, there was talk of a ‘free trade zone’ between Ukraine and Turkey, which should help the beleaguered government in Kyiv. “This is very important for boosting the trade volume and mutual investments,” said the Ukrainian leader.
Turkey is already a partner with Russia in many sectors, but mainly energy and tourism. Groysman plans to meet with Turkish President Erdogan as well as other leaders in the Turkish government. Agriculture, energy, defense, machine tools, and aviation will be discussed.
The Ukrainian economy is growing slowly once again after suffering a severe contraction after annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia and the start of the Donbass conflict.
