Ukraine and the Netherlands deepen economic cooperation Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has met with his

counterpart from the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, and pledged government support for joint Ukrainian-Dutch agricultura l projects. "I hope that our meeting will lead to implementation of joint projects.It's not o nly good to know one another, it is important to be able to agree on implementat ion of large-scale long-term projects.I assure you that the Ukraine's government will support the implementation of such projects," Azarov said. Mark Rutte said that in the near future the Netherlands hopes to initiate addit ional joint activities in the agricultural sector. In addition to sharing experi ence and acquiring specialized equipment, the effort has attracted significant i nvestment in Ukraine's agricultural sector. Dutch-Ukrainian cooperation in the a gricultural sector has a high potential because of the economic and political si tuation of the country, its climate, favorable for cultivation of various crops and a fertile soil. The Dutch Prime Minister noted that the greenhouse industry was the most promisi ng for Ukraine.Businessmen from the Netherlands were very interested in integrati on of greenhouse technologies that would enable to boost performance of Ukrainia n farms.Mark Rutte also emphasized successful activities of large Dutch companies ING and Shell on the Ukrainian market. Rutte expressed support for Ukraine's European aspirations and welcomed Ukraine' s preparations for the summit "Eastern Partnership" which is scheduled to take p lace in Vilnius. Rutte said he was convinced that the Association Agreement and a Free Trade Zone with the EU will help Ukraine to move forward. The agreement will boost Ukraini an agricultural production, allowing producers to export their products to Europ e. According to Rutte, Ukrainian products will become more attractive to other n ations as they compete with other manufacturers to improve the quality of the pr oduce. Rutte stressed that the Association Agreement with the EU would be able to give Ukrainian people well-deserved economic and social standards, as well as to inst ill the values of democracy, tolerance, and equal civil rights.This was what distin guishes the EU from the Russian Federation's Customs Union, which does concern i tself with the improvement of social standards. The volume of Dutch investments in Ukraine is currently some 5 billion USD, most ly in infrastructure projects, construction, and banking.The Netherlands is the e ighth largest EU exporter. In the first six months of 2013, the Netherlands exported agricultural, engineer ing and chemical goods for 600 million USD to Ukraine. During the same period, U kraine exported the Land of Tulips steel, cast iron, agricultural products, and machinery.Ukraine in 2013 has exported to the Netherlands various goods for 400 m illion USD. Offset: 5 billion USD is the Dutch investment in Ukraine