Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy started her working visit to the U.S. The first meeting, facilitated by the Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S. and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, took place at the Bank of America headquarters in New York with American businesses. The parties discussed attracting American investors to the Ukrainian market, priority sectors that businesses are interested in investing in, and overcoming the barriers faced by investors.
The meeting was also attended by Oleksii Sobolev, First Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Roman Andarak, Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine, and Serhii Boiev, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, who presented specific projects for attracting investments to Ukraine and opportunities for business development.
"We had a very productive meeting with representatives of companies such as BlackRock, Citi, Bayer, Logistics Plus, PwC, Bank of America, Baker Hughes, Siguler Guff, and others. Some of them are already operating in Ukraine, paying taxes, and providing jobs for thousands of people, while others are considering such opportunities. To invest now, American businesses want to see predictability in government policy, a reduction in administrative barriers, and tools to reduce risks—from guarantees to insurance and reinsurance. We already have developments and concrete steps on each of these points, which will help American companies enter the Ukrainian market or expand their presence in Ukraine," said Yulia Svyrydenko.
According to her, the priorities of American businesses and the Ukrainian government are clearly aligned in terms of sectors. First and foremost, they are interested in investing in the development of manufacturing in Ukraine, energy, agriprocessing, transportation and logistics, critical materials, digitization, and the development of the defense sector with localization in Ukraine.
"We discussed specific plans from partners, particularly regarding energy and logistics projects. We noted the active interest in privatization processes, public-private partnerships, and generally deepening dialogue both through the Business Advisory Council and within the framework of the Ukraine Recovery Conference. I invited American companies to participate in the conference, which will be held this year in Rome, and to provide their suggestions for shaping the event's agenda," said the Minister of Economy.
Yulia Svyrydenko also thanked Bank of America for being a reliable partner, particularly for advising and strengthening the institutional capacity of Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy.