December 11, 2020 – The international conference “Ukraine: Investment Harbor in the Time of Change” was organized by the Government Investment Promotion Office, UkraineInvest with the support of the USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine. Having gathered about 1,000 participants online from more than 60 countries, the event became an interactive platform for informing the international and Ukrainian investment community about the progress of reforms and development of the investment climate in Ukraine during 2020.
“Ukraine is a vibrant European country that is improving the business climate to compete globally, creating new business opportunities. Despite the challenges of 2020, Ukraine has taken important steps – it has adopted the legislation of agricultural land market launch, increased the tax system transparency, supported business by offering affordable loans, started transparent privatization and signed the first concession agreements”, – said The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
More than 40 speakers took part in the event, including representatives of the Government, business and international organizations. The key topics covered strengthening of investor protection rights, stimulating investment in small and medium-sized businesses, prospects for relocation of production facilities in Ukraine, enhancing communication between regions and the world, as well as successful cases of investors in Ukraine.
“Bringing the business climate in Ukraine to the best world standards remains the priority for our Government. I have already emphasized that we have an ambitious goal to get into the TOP-30 countries of the Doing Business rating. Ensuring clear and transparent market rules is an essential step. The business climate improvement in Ukraine is also impossible without cooperation with foreign partners. That is why we are actively discussing with the EU the matter of “industrial visa-free”, the agreement on a Сommon Aviation Area and accession of Ukraine to European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity ENTSO-E”, – said the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
Ukraine’s European integration aspirations and opportunities to intensify trade and investment cooperation were also discussed at the conference.
“In the process of updating the Agreement, we set more ambitious tasks – the removal of restrictions on the participation of Ukrainian companies with goods produced in Ukraine in public and municipal procurement in the EU. As well as elimination of restrictions connected with technical conformity of the goods made in Ukraine, not only in the field of an agro-industrial complex but also, first of all, in the industry sector. Thus, the renewed Association Agreement will allow Ukraine to make more active use of opportunities for trade and investment cooperation with the EU,” said Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.
“Attracting investments in the economy of Ukraine is a priority for the Government for 2021. The Ukraine Investment Promotion Office, UkraineInvest, is strengthening its role in the development of a dialogue between the state and business and is initiating a range of measures aimed at improving the business climate”, – said the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Oleh Nemchinov.
“Ukraine needs to take innovative approaches to promote investment potential, to compete for investment at the global level. That is why UkraineInvest has gathered the business community from 70 countries to inform about Ukraine’s steps towards improving the business climate, introducing incentives for investors and continuous support of existing and potential investors in Ukraine during the implementation of investment projects provided by UkraineInvest, “ – said the Executive Director of UkraineInvest, Sergiy Tsivkach.
Reference:
UkraineInvest is the Government investment promotion office established in 2016 to provide support to existing and potential investors.
UkraineInvest provides the investors with practical recommendations, facilitates organization of meetings with representatives of governmental bodies and institutions, and helps in resolving problematic issues. The Office works closely with state bodies to identify, summarize, and address systemic issues that affect doing business in Ukraine.
As a result, since the establishment of the Office, it has managed to attract and unlock more than $ 3.4 billion in investments from existing and new foreign companies. Moreover, it encouraged global brands such as HEAD, IKEA, GE, Scatec Solar and many others to enter the Ukrainian market. Read more: ukraineinvest.gov.ua
USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine (CEP) supports startups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) aiming to provide support for competitive industries and firms on Ukrainian and international markets, foster a better business enabling environment, and enabling Ukrainian companies to benefit from international trade.
