Good governance coupled with investment is key to rebuilding Ukraine, Victor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine, told the World Economic Forum in an interview ahead of the Extraordinary Ukraine Roundtable, 16-17 June, Kyiv, Ukraine.
President Yushchenko will deliver an optimistic message to business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum Roundtable which begins in Kyiv on Thursday. The president will tell the 250 participants from 32 countries that "Ukraine has a unique potential for foreign investors". He will also bring them up to date on his government's actions to build a "law-abiding state and market economy".
"Over its first 14 years of independence, Ukraine was “terra incognita” for foreign investors. The former government has managed to attract only US$ 8.3 billion in foreign investment over this period. In comparison, Poland, with population that is 10 million fewer than that of Ukraine, in its best years managed to attract US$ 10 billion annually."
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The first thing we would like to make clear to our foreign guests at this Roundtable is that Ukraine has unique potential, profitable enterprises and entire industries – aviation and shipbuilding, high-tech, and transportation – that can become the real trailblazers of the Ukrainian economy and a real “Klondike” for foreign investors."
We would like to show that the rules of the game for investors have changed in Ukraine, that the government and business community are now equal partners, that business - including foreign business - from now on will operate in accordance with the new rules of transparency and stability, no longer burdened with excessive regulations.
We would like to show that the Ukraine will work every day on providing reliable insurance arrangements for protecting investors’ rights, starting with the stock market and improving the judicial system.
From now on there will be no need to look for shadowy schemes, special zones or territories; now, the entire country is the zone of priority development. We have the lowest income taxes in Europe, low import duties, a special development system for small business and private enterprise (the appropriate law will be passed within a few weeks). I am convinced that the law on the single social tax will be passed this year and the tax will be set at 20%.
We have already set a very ambitious goal for this year of attracting US$ 1.5 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI). The Ukrainian “Davos” is one of the mechanisms for raising the level of FDI. In the past, Ukraine was very shy about attracting investments. We were ashamed to promote ourselves. The time has come to tell investors that Ukraine with its companies provides the best opportunities for investment.