The signing of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union will pave the way to a deeper integration process, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said.

"The signing of the agreement on association and a deep and comprehensive free trade area between Ukraine and the EU will be not a completion of a certain stage of our cooperation, but a beginning of a broader and deeper integration process," the head of state said at a regional meeting of the World Economic Forum in Kyiv on Wednesday .

Yanukovych said joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), preparations for the signing of an association agreement, and work on a number of agreements on the creation of a free trade zone are consistent steps Ukraine will take to achieve economic sovereignty.

"We are hoping for understanding and practical constructive advice from our partners. Ukraine's association with Europe will give a new quality to European expansion. Essentially, it's not the expansion of the EU to the east, it will give the EU a Eurasian shoulder. Ukraine, on whose territory the geographical center of Europe is located, could play the role of a link between the European Union and the Eurasian Union, ensuring the gradual creation of a unified European economic space. On a broader level, it could play the role of a portal between civilizations for Euro-Atlantic countries and Eurasia," Yanukovych said.