The Bulgarian-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation is holding its sixth session in Kiev between Monday and Tuesday.

The session is co-chaired by Bulgarian Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov and Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko, Traikov's Ministry said. This is the Commission's first meeting since 2004.

The sides are discussing bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, energy, trade, tourism, tandardization and metrology, and the promotion of entrepreneurship and foreign investment, among other domains.

While in Kiev, Traikov will also meet with Ukrainian Economy Minister Vasyl Tsushko, officials of local companies working with Bulgarian partners, and Bulgarian business people active inUkraine.

A meeting is scheduled with members of the 225,000-strong Bulgarian community in Ukraine. Traikov will be interviewed by the authoritative business weekly "Zerkalo Nedeli".

Ukraine is an important trade partner of Bulgaria. However, two-way commodity exchange plummeted by 59.5 per cent in 2009. In the first nine months of 2010, it stood at 867.3 million US dollars, down by 3.3 per cent. This included 138.7 million dollars in Bulgarian exports to Ukraine, up by 40.7 per cent.

Bulgarian exports to Ukraine are dominated by petroleum oil, medicines, and plastic and glass products. The main commodities imported from Ukraine to Bulgaria are crude petroleum oil, bituminous coal, iron and steel products, and ship equipment components. Energy and tourism are among the priority areas of bilateral cooperation.