President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that the experience of Switzerland in the development of tourism and infrastructure could be useful for Ukraine, and Swiss investors could join the development of the Ukrainian tourism industry.
"Our country is not very open to the world as a tourist country. Switzerland has a brand - in addition to the country of high-quality infrastructure, we all know the big ski resorts," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during the Ukrainian-Swiss talks in a wide circle.
The President of Ukraine is convinced that our country also has good prospects for the development of the tourism industry. He invited Swiss investors to participate in this process.
"Ukraine also has potential, a long tourist season, a big country, close neighbors who are happy to come. I would like your investors and your business to look closely at investing in infrastructure, including tourism," he said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also spoke about the large-scale privatization and concession in Ukraine.
"Three ports have been put up for sale and three others have been put up for concession," Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy added.
He also informed about the development of the country's infrastructure. In particular, the development of three areas - passenger, freight and infrastructure, large-scale construction and rehabilitation of roads and more.
"When you see new fleets, new trains, six thousand kilometers - four thousand state and two thousand municipal roads - this is something that has not been done on such a scale, but this is just the beginning. We will constantly increase the amount of built and repaired infrastructure," the government representative said.
The Head of State also spoke about the latest initiatives of the Ukrainian authorities regarding the situation in Donbas.
"We have made it easier for all children graduating from Ukrainian schools in the occupied territories to enrol in Ukrainian universities. We rebuilt the bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska so that the ambulance could get there, and we did everything so that the Red Cross mission could come to the occupied territory,” he stated.
At the same time, the President noted that due to the lack of access of international organizations, the Ukrainian authorities, unfortunately, do not know the real situation with the incidence of coronavirus in the temporarily occupied territories. Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed the need to address the issue of humanitarian aid to Ukrainians living under the occupation. In particular, Ukraine could join the process of providing them with ventilators.
“The other side should accept the humanitarian aid. This is the question of life,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The Head of State also stressed the need to continue the path of reforms: “Without reforms, Ukraine will not be able to move forward. Reforms are very much needed. There are advantages for a young country: many shifts, changes and reforms to make the country new and modern".
Vice Prime Minister - Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov thanked for the assistance provided by the Swiss agency in the development of digital transformation of Ukraine.
"A year ago, President Zelenskyy set a task for our team to make our country a leader in digitization in three years. It is your team that is a reliable friend in the process of digitization development,” he said.
"Almost ten million Ukrainians have become consumers of our digital products. Today we launched the business registration services - the fastest in the world. And these projects work due to your help," Mykhailo Fedorov added.
For her part, President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga praised the President's efforts to establish peace in Ukraine, noting that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had made considerable efforts to end the war.
