Ukraine, Norway to strengthen economic cooperation – Groysman
Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said this during a meeting with representatives of Norwegian business operating in Ukraine, the Government portal reported.
“It is important that our Government team is committed to helping business: you are growing and Ukraine is also improving,” Groysman said.
According to the prime minister, Norway is a reliable and consistent partner of Ukraine, both in the political and economic sectors. Norwegian companies are among the most desirable investors for Ukraine, considering their cutting edge technologies and high standards of doing business.
Ukraine is now among the most profitable countries for investment, as it demonstrates economic growth and the Government's capacity to implement fundamental reforms in all sectors despite all the external challenges, Groysman noted.
The participants of the meeting discussed the current state of the Norwegian business in Ukraine, as well as plans for the implementation of important investment projects here. Groysman called on businessmen to invest more actively in the Ukrainian economy and to familiarize with privatization opportunities.
More than 50 Norwegian companies are currently operating in Ukraine. Moreover, the spectrum of investment includes apart from trade in traditional goods for both countries, primarily metals and food, also advanced technologies, in particular, green energy - solar and wind energy. The planned volumes of Norwegian investments in this area will reach hundreds of millions dollars. Relevant energy projects will be implemented in southern Ukraine. Such agreements were reached in the autumn of 2018 during a visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway Ms Ine Eriksen Søreide to Kyiv and her meeting with Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman.
In 2017, the trade turnover between Ukraine and Norway amounted to almost USD 290 million. And over 10 months of 2018, this figure increased by more than 7%. Among the most promising sectors for bilateral cooperation are renewable energy, software and IT, energy saving and environmental protection, oil and gas extraction in the Black Sea shelf, shipbuilding and education. Ukraine and Norway have a common Chamber of Commerce.
