Ukrainian and Belarusian presidents discuss trade and economic cooperation

The two leaders held closed-door talks during the first forum of regions of Ukraine and Belarus in Belarusian southeastern city of Gomel, said a statement on the Ukrainian presidential website. Later in the day, Poroshenko wrote on Facebook that Kiev and Minsk have agreed to establish a working group to push for the removal of obstacles in bilateral trade, in particular, in such sectors as metallurgy and agriculture. Ukraine-Belarus trade has a potential to double, to reach 9 billion U.S. dollars, Poroshenko said. The two-day forum kicked off on Thursday. Some 100 companies from 17 Ukrainian regions took part in the forum. The trade turnover between Ukraine and Belarus increased by about 18 percent to 4.3 billion dollars last year.