During a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated his colleague on his re-election as Prime Minister and the formation of a government.

The Ukrainian president stressed that both countries have always been and will continue to be reliable friends and partners who will join forces in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Zelensky noted that the State of Israel is an example of an effective fight against the pandemic. “I would be grateful to your government for providing humanitarian assistance, as well as for sharing best practices in the fight against coronavirus”, Zelensky said.

Volodymyr Zelensky also called on the Israeli side to complete the ratification of the bilateral Free Trade Agreement signed on January 21, 2019.

In addition, the leaders of the two countries discussed projects in Ukraine that may be of interest to Israeli investors, including the construction of an international airport in Cherkasy and a highway.

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It will be recalled that within the framework of the free trade agreement, Israel will open the market of industrial goods for Ukraine by 80%, and Ukraine – by 70%. Transitional periods are provided for other goods. It is worth noting that Israel is among the top 20 markets in focus for Ukraine in the Export Strategy. Exports of Ukrainian goods to Israel are constantly growing. Thus, in 2016, Ukraine exported goods to Israel for $ 488.5 million, in 2017 this figure was already $ 604.6 million. In 2018, exports of goods from Ukraine to Israel amounted to $ 580 million, and for the first 3 months of 2019 exports goods to Israel amounted to $ 192.2 million.

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As for the furniture industry, the volume of furniture exports to Israel in 2019 doubled from 1180.4 to 2441.5 thousand USD. It is also worth recalling that since 2018, a number of Ukrainian furniture manufacturers, architects and designers have visited Israel with trade missions. Some of them ended with the signing of contracts for the supply of furniture and the creation of designs for living spaces. As part of the EBRD’s # EU4Business initiative: consultations for small businesses in Ukraine, with the participation of the Israeli Ukrainian Alliance and the assistance of the Ukrainian Association of Furniture manufacturers, 15 Israeli buyers, architects, designers and retailers met with 70 Ukrainian furniture companies in Ukraine.