President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with representatives of the business community - members of the European Business Association, during which he spoke about the government's steps to support Ukraine's economy.
First of all, he informed the audience about the security situation inside the country and near its borders, as this issue worries representatives of both domestic and foreign business.
According to the Head of State, at the moment there are no obstacles in terms of security that would hinder the work of the business.
"We believe that the buildup of troops near the borders is a psychological pressure from our neighbors. We do not see anything new in this. As for whether there are risks, the risks have existed since 2014. What matters is the degree of these risks and how we react to them," the President said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed: Ukraine is doing everything possible to strengthen its defense capabilities and be able to respond to any developments. In particular, planned exercises are being carried out, measures are being taken to improve the supply of troops.
"Today we have enough forces and weapons to defend our state with dignity without the involvement of anyone but the military," he said.
At the same time, as the President noted, our international partners and allies have also intensified their activities to support Ukraine and stabilize the situation. That is why we have recently seen a large number of visits to our country by world leaders, representatives of EU countries, as well as many talks in various formats to reduce tensions near the Ukrainian borders.
"Many countries around the world are our friends. I believe that united efforts of the European Union and the United States, and a solid position in support of Ukraine is a very important signal," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Therefore, as the Head of State noted, the security issue should not affect the country's vital functions. The President stressed that the economic situation in Ukraine today is stable, which is reflected in the strengthening of the hryvnia.
"The main tasks of the President and the government are business, economy, and investment climate. Everyone understands what our neighbor is, but it should not affect the economy," Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced.
In order to ensure the stability of the economy and the national currency, the Ukrainian government has held a series of talks with international partners to obtain financial support. As a result, we received the allocation of macro-financial assistance from the EU and a number of countries, which also became a positive signal for business, as stated by the President.
Deputy Head of the President's Office Rostyslav Shurma said that in the near future the government plans to launch a program to subsidize interest rates for consumers. There are also plans to stimulate the construction of new housing, thermal modernization of residential buildings, production of electric vehicles in Ukraine, which will be implemented through the mechanism of affordable loans.
In addition, there are intentions to attract investment in industries where Ukrainian producers find it difficult to compete on the cost of financing.
According to forecasts, these measures will contribute to the revival of aviation, shipbuilding, rail car construction and the creation of irrigation equipment production.
Rostyslav Shurma assured that small and medium-sized businesses will continue to receive affordable loans under the 5-7-9% program.
He also touched upon the development of the country's digital economy and the digitization of public services. Thus, according to the Deputy Head of the President's Office, the recent launch of one of the best tax and legal regimes for IT business in the world, Diia City, will make Ukraine attractive to IT companies and startups and increase budget revenues.
For her part, EBA Executive Director Anna Derevyanko thanked the authorities for keeping their promise of regular contacts with business representatives. She also expressed gratitude for the first-hand information about the situation in the country and the latest talks.
Anna Derevyanko stressed the importance of completing a number of reforms, including the judiciary and the fight against smuggling. At the same time, the Executive Director of the European Business Association expressed support for the government's steps to bring businesses out of the shadows and resolve the issue of e-commerce.
"We should try to bring everyone to a transparent plane," said Anna Derevyanko.
The participants of the meeting discussed a number of important issues of the country's life and, in particular, the sphere of business.
