The Ukrainian Party was represented by H.E. Mr. Borys Humeniuk, Ambassador of Ukraine as well as members of the Ukrainian Parliament Mrs. Nataliia Buchkovska and Mr. Anatolii Denysenko.

The President of Cyprus during his address outlined that Cypriot Government is determined to further widen and deepen ties with Ukraine, “in order to inaugurate a new era of prosperity.” Mr. Nicos Anastasiades referred to his visit to Ukraine in December 2015 which aimed to upgrade bilateral and regional dialogue between both nations and to enhance their relationship through, among others, “advancing cooperation in all possible envisioned fields.” He added: “At the same time, both [Ukraine] President [Petro] Poroshenko and I agreed that we should take measures that would optimise our collaboration in areas where mutual interests and comparative advantages exist.” “My Government remains confident that there is considerable potential to further develop our relations, particularly in the commercial, economic and touristic fields, and we are committed to continue working in this direction, amongst others, by encouraging the further interaction of the Cypriot and Ukrainian business communities,” concluded the President of Cyprus.

At the same time, Ambassador of Ukraine to Cyprus condemned the agressive policy of Russia toward Ukraine as well as annexation by the country of Ukrainian Crimea and destabilization of the situation in the Eastern part of Ukraine. He also spoke about the main activities of the Ukrainian government which aim to improve the business and investment climate in Ukraine. “The main priority is to increase business activity so that Ukrainian economy would have returned to growth in 2016. The Government of Ukraine has chosen a simple and effective mechanism for reducing the burden on business and encouraging economic growth. The name of this mechanism is deregulation. We cut the number of taxes from 22 to 11,” he said. “We established a System of Electronic VAT Administration contributing to success in combating the VAT fraud. Permits and licenses for businesses cut by 50%: cancelled licenses targeting 20 types of activity as well as reduced number of permits from 143 to 84. Ukraine simplified the procedures for registering new businesses (within 24 hours) and property rights. Anti-crisis measures were implemented to bridge the budget gap. A number of shadow economic schemes were eliminated. Negotiated and approved a comprehensive IMF support program,” Mr. Borys Humeniuk added. “Cyprus remains the biggest investor to the Ukrainian economy while Ukraine is one of the largest investors of Cyprus as well. At the same time, our bilateral trade relations showed negative trends during the last year. This is a clear sign of the necessity to promote further our bilateral business-to-business contacts,” he concluded.

The event was covered by a vast majority of Cypriot Mass Media.