Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 24
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
Azerbaijan invested more than $221 million in the Ukrainian economy in 2016, Stepan Kubiv, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister, minister of economic development and trade, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
The largest volume of Azerbaijan's investments – about 88 percent – was directed at the wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, while five percent of funds were invested in construction and four percent – in industry, according to him.
“In general, improving the business climate in Ukraine is a key priority for the government of Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman,” Kubiv said.
“We are working to reduce regulatory pressure on business and create a system of effective regulation, and also actively cooperate with the Parliament to ensure the adoption of important bills that will improve the business environment in Ukraine.”
He noted that active work is underway in Ukraine to combat corruption, and also tax, customs and judicial reforms are being implemented in the country.
“Thanks to the taken measures, Ukraine's GDP grew by 2.2 percent in 2016, after falling by 43 percent in 2015. International financial institutions’ decisions to provide Ukraine with significant financial resources are also an important international signal,” he said.
“In particular, it is worth mentioning that the EU provided macro-financial assistance in the amount of 600 million euros,” Kubiv said, adding that this testifies the correctness of the chosen course of reforms in Ukraine.