ASTANA, Dec. 14 - Ukrainian-Kazakh trade will reach $1.5 billion by the end of 2006, Kazakh Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov told a briefing after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych in Astana on Thursday.

"The volume of trade between the two countries stood at more than $1.2 billion in the first nine months of the year. I very much hope that the target of $1.5 billion will be reached this year," he said.