Scientific and methodological approaches to the research of trade cooperation between countries were systematized, theoretical and practical aspects of its formation and functioning were identified as a result of the study. The approaches to the meaning of the concepts «international trade», «foreign policy», «protectionism», «free trade policy», etc, are systematized and summarized on the basis of the analysis. Taking this into account, it is suggested that the meaning of the category «international trade cooperation» might be clarified by emphasizing on the asymmetrical component of such cooperation, which should be understood as the creation and development of effective interaction between two or more countries in an asymmetric trade environment, that is caused by the presence or absence of international exchange of goods and services, as well as by different economic development dynamics. Based on the clustering, 4 groups of countries were identified, which allowed to highlight the characteristic features of the trade relations development with countries. The results of the analysis conducted at a 10-year time interval (2011 and 2021) showed that Turkey retains its status as a significant trading partner (the first cluster), Egypt plays a significant role in the trade portfolio of Ukraine. The rest of the region has created the third and fourth clusters. It should be noted that the trade balance with most countries has been positive, given the weak diversification of foreign trade of all the partners involved. The development of trade cooperation between Ukraine and the countries of the Middle East and Africa in the sectoral section was analyzed and the complementarity index for the period 2017-2021 was calculated. To determine the degree of similarity in the commodity structure of Ukrainian exports and imports of trading partners, calculations were made (the following partner countries were selected for analysis: Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Tunisia, UAE, Saudi Arabia). Calculations were made on the basis of HS codes 2 digit (20 product groups), the most important of which were ferrous metals, cereals, meat and edible co-products, fats and oils. The conducted SWOT-analysis allowed to identify the main threats and opportunities for the development of trade cooperation between countries. It has been proved that the labour shortage in Ukraine can have a significant impact on the competitiveness of national products in the target markets, and can adjust the ability of the economic system to create both resource-based and innovative products. The legislative framework and institutional structure for supporting trade cooperation between Ukraine and the countries of the Middle East and Africa have been systematized. This allowed substantiating the creation of a research institute for foreign trade aiming to provide scientific and professional support to the executive agencies and national exporters in the formation of priority areas of support for cooperation. The estimation of trade protection level revealed that the countries of the Middle East and Africa region have high tariff and non-tariff barriers, especially for agricultural products, which creates asymmetrical and unfavorable conditions for national foreign trade actors, despite the current level of cooperation. Strategic guidelines of trade relations economic development of the regional countries have been formed and substantiated. Appropriate measures to support domestic exporters can be applied on the basis of it. The main change in this context should be the shift from an all-inclusive policy in the Middle East and Africa region to identifying breakthrough markets for certain countries to focus on trade cooperation with them. Two scenarios of trade cooperation development between countries on the basis of the obtained results of cluster analysis has been offered. It has been proved that the foreign trade policy of Ukraine should be transformed and expanded due to the system of support for domestic exports ahead market expectations, taking into account the current military risks and features of the post-war renewal. The methodological approach to the creation of the road map of trade cooperation of Ukraine with selected countries of the Middle East and Africa was suggested to improve in the thesis considering the abovementioned aspects. It will be followed by step-by-step identification of stages of cooperation between two or more parties on the basis of the formed vision and objectives of trade cooperation with a specific country in the region according the type of scenario chosen.
