UPDATE 1-Libya agrees wheat farmland deal with Ukraine -Jana

TRIPOLI/KIEV, May 27 - Libya has agreed with Ukraine to grow wheat on 100,000 hectares of land and export the grain to the North African country, Libyan state media reported on Wednesday.

Tripoli and Kiev also reached unspecified deals in military cooperation including "exchange of secret information" and "nuclear cooperation for peaceful uses", Libyan news agency Jana said.

"The agreement on farming 100,000 hectares in Ukraine is part of several deals between the two countries that include building an oil refinery and investment in several other agriculture projects," Jana quoted Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi as saying late on Tuesday.

"Libya would set up an investment centre in Ukraine to oversee its investment in several fields including oil, gas and investment in grains farming," Jana quoted Mahmoudi, who held a joint news conference with visiting Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, as adding.

Tymoshenko, after her return to Kiev, told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the draft farmland deal with Libya, still to be signed, showed her government was fulfilling promises made by previous Ukrainian administrations but never carried out. This was the start of a new relationship.

"Promises were made and financing was even provided, specific steps taken to work jointly on 100,000 hectares of agricultural land in order to supply grain to the African continent," she said. "So many things failed to materialise under the previous government."

"Libya is a bridge to African countries. Africa can be a great consumer of Ukrainian grain and food.

"We worked out a draft agreement which is to be signed," she said, adding that Libyan representatives were due in Kiev on July 20-21 for further talks.

Tymoshenko said she had reached agreement with OPEC member Libya for the supply of 600,000 tonnes of oil to Ukraine's Kremenchug refinery, which has suffered a disruption in supply of crude from Russia due to an ownership dispute.

Libyan officials had said last year Tripoli was considering leasing 300,000 hectares of Ukrainian farmland to grow 1.5 million tonnes of wheat.

Libya imports almost all its food needs, including wheat and flour, to feed its 5.3 million people.

Countries including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, China and South Korea have been searching for farmland to guarantee food supplies after food price inflation in 2008 and water shortages highlighted the need to reduce dependence on imports.