Ukraine and Switzerland will conduct joint business missions for domestic businesses to explore opportunities for Swiss companies to invest in Ukraine, as well as opportunities for Ukrainian companies to expand in Switzerland.
These were the results of the Swiss-Ukrainian Roundtable on Recovery and Rebuilding at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 17.
The event was attended by Deputy Ministers of Economy of Ukraine Volodymyr Kuzio and Oleksiy Sobolev, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Rostyslav Shurma, as well as representatives of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland and management of Swiss companies interested in starting or continuing their work in Ukraine.
“The business mission is an opportunity for Swiss businesses to see with their own eyes that investing in Ukraine is not only possible, but also necessary. That we have regions that are relatively safe and that it is possible to open businesses without waiting for the war to end. In addition, Ukraine is working on expanding its war risk insurance infrastructure and new investment attraction tools. We hope that more Swiss companies will enter the Ukrainian market. Their interest is strong, and the Government is working to create the conditions for this interest to be realised,” said Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Volodymyr Kuzio.
During the roundtable, representatives of Swiss companies and business associations assured that they were ready to support feasibility studies of investment projects and to participate in the deregulation reform. The parties agreed to prepare a list of documents that, in the opinion of foreign investors, prevent them from entering the Ukrainian market or operating in Ukraine, and these documents will be considered by the interagency working group on deregulation.
The issue of Swiss companies’ participation in public procurement in Ukraine was also raised. As part of the update of the Free Trade Agreement with the European Free Trade Association, Switzerland will improve the mechanism of mutual access to the public procurement market.
Volodymyr Kuzio also highlighted the war risk insurance infrastructure that Ukraine managed to build in 2023. Thus, MIGA has already insured its first investments, and Japan, the United Kingdom and Norway have already contributed to the MIGA Sure trust fund. The DFC will insure 5 projects worth $380 million, and the EBRD is working on creating a mechanism to insure property risks associated with the war, for damage to goods during transportation and storage. The Ministry of Economy, together with its British partners, has also launched a mechanism for insuring ships against war risks. In addition, as of the beginning of 2024, 14 foreign export credit agencies have insurance conditions to support Ukraine, and five more are working on their implementation.
The Swiss side noted that it was working on the launch of a reinsurance market, with the involvement of their ECA and private companies.
Swiss companies operating in Ukraine also noted an improvement in the business climate last year.
“Traditionally, the largest sectors of Swiss investment have been industry, finance and insurance. We hope to continue this trend in the future. Roundtables like these will certainly contribute to this, because we can hear what barriers the private sector faces before entering the Ukrainian market and remove them,” said Volodymyr Kuzio. (Government portal/Business World Magazine)
