Presidents made a tour to the Pivdennyi (Southern) Machine-Building Plant and got familiarized with the Ukrainian machine-building potential in the aerospace sphere.

As you may know, the decision to hold such a working meeting devoted to the issues of bilateral cooperation in the aerospace sphere was taken during last December Ukrainian-Russian Business Forum in Moscow.

In the course of yesterday’s meeting the two Presidents have also confirmed and stressed the importance of another forthcoming bilateral event - a meeting of the local governors of the border regions of Ukraine and the Russian Federation with the participation of the Foreign Ministers of two countries to be held on February 16.

The results of the Dnipropetrovsk meeting are of paramount importance for Ukraine for the following reasons:

• an impetus was given to the inter-regional cooperation, in particular, implementation of concrete projects in the machine-building, fuel and energy, transport, medical, scientific and technical, humanitarian and social spheres, and also in the agricultural complex of both countries;

• implementation of the reached agreements and documents signed provides additional possibilities to preserve and further develop Ukrainian aerospace industry;

• Ukraine will take more active part in the international space research and peaceful use of space, in the promotion of space services and Ukrainian-Russian technologies to the world market. It will also provide expanding the sphere of commercial use of rocket-carriers build in Ukraine;

• cooperative links were restored in the production of the aerospace objects and aircraft, in particular the aircraft of new generation which are produced with the use of the Ukrainian industrial potential;

• supplementary conditions are created for ensuring safety of liquidation works of solid-rocket intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine ballistic missiles;

• agreement is reached to participate jointly in the projects of technical assistance given to third countries during construction, reconstruction and use of industrial facilities and other objects in their territories.

It was also agreed to examine the proposals concerning the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait.

One of the most important results of the meeting, as both Presidents put it, was the agreement between the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine and Russian JSC “UPS” on the transition to the regime of parallel operation of the power electric systems of Ukraine and the Russian Federation. It will give Ukraine a possibility to stabilize its own electricity grids, to actively use its electricity supply network for carrying out the electric power transit to third countries.

The Presidents have signed a Joint Statement on the Issues of Expanding Cooperation on the Sphere of Aircraft and Aerospace Equipment, 4 intergovernmental agreements and more than 10 interdepartmental documents. In particular:

• in the Joint Statement the both Sides confirmed their international obligations in the sphere of space development with peaceful purposes and non-proliferation of the missile technologies and missile arms;

• the Program of Inter-Regional and Border Cooperation of Ukraine and the Russian Federation for 2001-2007 and the Measures for its Implementation opens up new prospects for coordinating conceptual measures concerning structural reconstruction of the border regions’ economies and for implementing inter-regional projects;

• Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Conditions for Cooperation in the Sphere of Technical Assistance Given to Third Countries during Construction, Reconstruction, Modernization and Exploitation of Industrial Plants and Other Objects in Their Territories regulates bilateral cooperation in one of the most prospective directions of cooperation between Ukrainian and Russian subjects of management in third countries; it will allow to engage enterprises in the joint work for maintenance, replacement of equipment and participation in tenders;

• Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Russian Federation on the Transfer of Goods in Terms of Cooperation in the Space Development and Creation and Exploitation of Rocket and Space Equipment is directed at ensuring coordinated policy of both countries in the course of exempting from taxes a number of categories of goods used in carrying out cooperation in the rocket and rocket and space spheres;

• Memorandum between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Russian Federation on Cooperation in the Sphere of Liquidation of Strategic Solid-Rocket Missiles PC-22 and PCM-52 envisages a possibility of a wider production cooperation with the aim of ensuring safety of liquidation works of solid-rocket intercontinental ballistic missiles (IBMs) and submarine ballistic missiles (SBMs), and also more efficacy of using material, technical and financial assistance rendered by the United States in terms of the Program of Mutual Threat Decrease;

• Memorandum on Cooperation in the Sphere of Power Industry between the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine and RJSC “Unified Power Systems” envisages possibilities for carrying out commercial supplies of Russian electrical energy to Ukraine and its transit through the territory of Ukraine, restoring parallel operation of the power systems of Ukraine and Russia, delivering Ukrainian industrial plants’ products for the needs of Russian power engineering industry, and also coordinating the implementation of the programs for the prospective development of power engineering industries of the two countries, as well as exchanging information and technical data, developing scientific and technical cooperation in this sphere, etc.

A new evidence of prospective development of the inter-regional cooperation became the Agreement between Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration and the Government of Moscow on the Cooperation in the Trade and Economic, Scientific and Technical, Humanitarian and Cultural Spheres signed by M.Shvets, the Head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration and Y.Luzhkov, the Head of the Government of Moscow.

A number of interdepartmental documents have been also signed, they are aimed at facilitation of bilateral cooperation in the fields of space development and utilization with peaceful purposes, standardization and certification of rocket and space equipment, ship-building, carrying out common industrial policy and developing electrical equipment.

Thus, the meeting of the Presidents of Ukraine and the Russian Federation has become an important step in furthering the Ukrainian-Russian strategic partnership.