Call to Action from Business to Ukrainian Government, Parliament, IMF and Ukraine’s International Partners

The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, the European Business Association, the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs, and the Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine held a joint press conference to call for a united effort to negotiate a workable deal in the coming days in order to unlock $1.9 billion in funding from the International Monetary Fund and associated financing from other bilateral partners.

Speakers at the conference were Lenna Koszarny, Director of the Board of Directors at the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, Founding Partner and CEO of Horizon Capital; Tomas Fiala, President of the European Business Association, CEO of Dragon Capital; Viacheslav Klymov, President of SUP, the Nova Poshta co-founder;  Roman Shpek, Head of the Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine; Tetyana Prokopchuk, Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine; and, Anna Derevyanko, Executive Director of the European Business Association.

 

The conference participants spoke with one voice to urge Ukrainian authorities, the IMF and Ukraine’s other international partners to reach a compromise, summarizing their call to action as follows:

• We urge the Ukrainian government, the IMF and Ukraine’s international partners to make every effort to put in place a workable deal before July 20 in order to unlock the $1.9 billion IMF tranche.        
• We urge the Ukrainian government and the IMF to find a workable solution to the issues of gas tariffs and state budget by July 20 and call on the Ukrainian Parliament to support it.      
• We urge the Ukrainian Parliament to approve on July 12 Draft Law #7441 together with the amendment concerning appeals against ongoing cases of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.
• We urge the IMF and Ukraine’s international partners to take into account Ukraine’s broader economic and reform environment along with relevant social implications and make rational decisions based on current realities.  
• We believe that what is at stake for Ukraine isthe loss of two years of future GDP growth, hard-won financial stability, billions of dollars of investment, thousands of jobs, the containment of brain drain, and hope for a better future.

 

The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, the European Business Association, the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs and the Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine believe that continuing cooperation with the IMF under the current Memorandum of Understanding is crucial for Ukraine’s continued macroeconomic stability, economic growth and attracting foreign direct investment.