The global elite from more than 100 countries have descended on the alpine town of Davos in Switzerland for this year’s World Economic Forum. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are all attending, and so is Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
The forum, which runs Jan. 23-26, gathers thousands of business leaders and policymakers to talk trade and globalization. This year, Ukraine is running Ukraine House Davos, a five-day forum sideline venue, at which the country’s interests will be promoted on the world stage via a series of discussions, panels, and receptions.
Delivering a speech on Jan. 25 in Davos, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko talked about a partnership with International Monetary Fund, fake news, and Ukraine’s proposed anti-corruption court.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko talks to the audience at the Davos Ukrainian Breakfast on Jan. 25, during the 48th annual session of the World Economic Forum in Davos. (president.gov.ua)
Fake News
Poroshenko said fake news about Ukraine is part of Russia’s hybrid war against his country.
“The whole world” is in need of hearing the truth about the situation in Ukraine, he said.
“It is very important to deliver the truth about events in Ukraine to protect the world from the fake news that Russia actively distributes around the world,” Poroshenko said.
According to him, Davos provides a platform to communicate, discuss and share opinions, as well as to look for people who will “invest money and effort in delivering the truth about Ukraine.”
Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk (L), President Petro Poroshenko (C), and other Ukrainian delegates walk on Jan. 24 near the venue in Davos, Switzerland, where the 48th World Economic Forum is being held on Jan. 23-26. (president.gov.ua)
Ukraine to protect investors
Poroshenko also promised to create a system to protect foreign investment in Ukraine.
One of the steps, according to him, is to make amendments to the tax legislation and to apply tax only to the funds withdrawn from the country, while money that works inside the country will be exempt from any taxation.
“We’re planning to make amendments to the tax legislation, replace the profit tax to stimulate the attraction of investments,” he said. “When you invest in Ukraine, you won’t pay taxes.”
Another step required for making doing business in Ukraine transparent, according to Poroshenko, is to initiate the establishment of the National Bureau for Financial Investigation, an analytical body that will monitor the cooperation between law enforcement agencies and business.
“Authorities won’t be allowed even to knock the door of the business (without a real reason),” Poroshenko said.
President Petro Poroshenko (C), and other Ukrainian delegates walk near the venue in Davos, Switzerland, where the 48th World Economic Forum is being held on Jan. 23-26. (president.gov.ua)
‘Autumn of reforms’
Poroshenko boasted about the laws passed in autumn 2017, calling it the “autumn of reforms.” He does not want the government to stop or freeze these reforms, “even before the next election period.”
Poroshenko underlined privatization as one of the top reforms, along with the pension law, the “pretty painful, yet necessary” healthcare law, the education reform, and the completion of judiciary reforms.
“For 20 years there’s just been talk, no action (until now),” he said, saying the current government had been underestimated.
“Nobody expected that we would be so successful and efficient,” he said.
Poroshenko stressed the importance of continuing preparation of the draft law on the anti-corruption court for second reading.
“This is my initiative. We must… (speed up) the preparation of the given law for second reading,” Poroshenko said. Passing of the law is one of the conditions of the IMF to provide Ukraine with more loans.
IMF meeting
Earlier, Poroshenko and IMF Director Christine Lagarde on Jan. 24 held a meeting in Davos that both said had been “productive negotiations.”
After the talks, Poroshenko thanked the IMF chief “for a very strong message of support for Ukraine,” and said the IMF plans to continue working together with Ukraine in the future.
In turn, Lagarde said the meeting had given the sides “a chance to take stock of all the measures that have already been taken,” although she noted that some of the measures are still “pending” and that the IMF awaits their “completion.”
Poroshenko said that in order to improve the financial system and cleanse the banking sector of problem banks, a candidate for the post of the NBU governor had been approved – Yakiv Smoliy, the former first deputy governor of the NBU. Poroshenko submitted his candidacy to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, on Jan. 18.
The decision has been welcomed by the IMF and international partners. In particular, Lagarde said that she is “particularly appreciative of the imminent appointment of an independent and permanent governor of the NBU, which is very much needed.”
Meanwhile, the NBU published on Jan. 15 a statement in which it says it expects to receive about $2 billion from IMF in 2018. The NBU relies on this money to “retain micro-financial stability” but says there are risks that the money may not come “if there are no reforms required by IMF.”
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (L) holds a meeting with Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 24. Poroshenko invited Netanyahu to visit Ukraine to discuss the future of their two countries’ trade. (president.gov.ua)
Poroshenko also met in Davos on Jan. 24-25 the president of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berset, Vice-President of the European Commission for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
