The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, with 268 votes in favor has ratified an agreement between the Ukrainian government and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on participation in the work of OECD's Steel Committee.

The agreement on participation in the work of the Steel Committee was signed on November 23, 2006.

As the explanatory note to the document reads, the ratification of the agreement is aimed at Ukraine's acquiring equal in rights of membership in the OECD Steel Committee. According to the document, acquiring equal of rights membership in this committee is extremely important, since the output of the Ukrainian steel industry constitutes the basis of Ukrainian exports and provides a significant share of the state's monetary revenues.

The ratification of the agreements will favor the further development of Ukraine's cooperation with the OECD and integration of the steel branch on the global world markets.