As Ukraine inches closer to Turkey with recently flourishing ties, a new agreement between the two countries marks a solid step for cooperation. The Ukrainian presidency announced that 3,000 Ukrainian police officers will be trained by their Turkish counterparts in Turkey.

The agreement was ratified during Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's visit to Istanbul on Monday and Tuesday to attend the World Humanitarian Summit where he met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Poroshenko described the training deal as "a very efficient form of cooperation between the police of two countries." The training program is called "Teach and Equip" and the Ukrainian presidency's statement said officers would also be provided with "all the necessary equipment," although it was unclear whether they would be supplied arms. A similar training program is also planned for Ukrainian troops in the near future.

Turkish police, one of the few well-organized law enforcement forces in the region, have shared their expertise with police forces from around the world since the 1990s. Police force recruits from Mongolia to Bosnia-Herzegovina have undergone training at a police academy in Ankara in fields ranging from riot control to administration. Another police academy in the central city of Sivas has also trained Afghan police cadets. Turkey also offers training in the home countries of cadets. Uganda was the latest country where trainers from the Turkish National Police's Special Forces visited for a two-week course earlier this month.

Turkey maintains friendly relations with Ukraine; the "best relations ever" in Ukraine's history, as Poroshenko described during a recent visit to the country. The two countries enjoy political cooperation at the highest level and Ankara is a vocal supporter of Kiev's opposition to Russia's intervention in the country and its annexation of Crimea, an autonomous region of Ukrainian. A series of agreements were signed earlier this month between two countries for joint projects in trade and industry. One of the agreements is on the joint production of aircraft in Ukraine.