Turkey, Ukraine to sign deal for passport-free travel

Ukraine and Turkey are set to sign an agreement allowing their citizens to travel to each other's countries without passports, Ukrainian Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman has said ahead of a two-day visit to Turkey's capital Ankara starting on March 14.        

"An important step will be taken during my visit to Turkey," Groysman told state-run Anadolu Agency on March 10.
 
"Ukrainian citizens can travel to Turkey and Turkish citizens can travel to Ukraine with their national identities thanks to an agreement that will be signed between the governments of Ukraine and Turkey," Groysman said, adding that the two countries should also increase mutual flights.

"Ukrainians know very well Turkey and Turkey's tourism opportunities," he said.     
   
Previously, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu said in Ukraine's capital Kyiv that citizens would be able to only show their national ID's to gain entry into Ukraine and vice versa.       
 
"When we remove the obstacles, the tourist flow will increase," Groysman said, adding that over 1 million Ukrainian tourists visited Turkey every year.        

Bilateral ties   
     
Groysman said he values "strategic and friendly" relations with Turkey, adding that in 2016 the bilateral trade volume was around $3.5 billion.        

He said Kiev and Ankara are concentrated on creating a "free trade zone" between the two countries. "This is very important for boosting trade volume and mutual investments," he added.         

Groysman said he expects to discuss cooperation with Turkey in a number of areas, such as the machine and defense industries, aviation, agriculture and energy.