New Delhi: Giving a new dimension to bilateral relations, India and Ukraine on October 3 signed an extradition treaty to bring to justice criminal offenders taking refuge in each other's countries and another treaty on mutual legal assistance on criminal matters.

The two sides also inked an agreement for co-operation on merchant shipping in the presence of visiting Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The accords were signed after the two leaders held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual concern. The 30-minute one-to- one meeting was followed by delegation-level parleys.

The two sides identified steel and power as areas of future co-operation, an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said.

Ukraine will send a specialised delegation in the next few months to firm up specific projects for co-operation, the spokesperson said.

PTI