Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko and his visiting Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev agreed on Friday, during their discussions on the 2007-2008 bilateral relations development program, to boost energy cooperation.

The two leaders discussed Kazakhstan's potential participation in expanding already existing pipelines or building new ones that could help transport Kazakh oil to Western markets.

"Kazakhstan is open and considers Ukraine as an important partner," and the two sides would expand cooperation in energy, communications, science and technology, Nazarbayev told a news conference.

He added that Kazakhstan would support Ukraine's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) this year.

The Ukrainian president also pledged to shore up cooperation in energy and several other sectors.

Yushchenko said that the two countries would set up a working group for the construction of oil pipelines in the region, including one from the Black Sea port of Odessa to Brody, on the Polish border.

Ukraine is already a major transit point for oil flowing into Europe, mostly from Russia. In the meantime, Kazakhstan is seeking to diversify ways to export its oil.

Source: Xinhua