On Friday, June 3, Prime Minister
of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman held a meeting with World Bank Regional Vice
President for Europe and Central Asia Cyril Muller and Vice President of the World
Bank’s Global Practices
for Equitable Growth,
Finance and Institutions and Jan Walliser. The sides discussed areas of
further cooperation between Ukraine and the World Bank as well as the
Government's plans as to the implementation of reforms in the country.
Volodymyr Groysman informed about
the priorities of the Government in 2016, including the reform of Ukrainian
customs, energy sector, public service, further decentralization of power,
deregulation, the launch of all anti-corruption bodies, public privatization of
state-owned enterprises and competitive appointment of their heads.
The Prime Minister briefed his
interlocutors on the steps already undertaken by the Cabinet of Ministers.Thus, the Government has
introduced a single market-based price for gas, simplified the registration of
medicines in Ukraine, begun preparations for the privatization of Odesa
Portside Plant, appointed heads of two state-owned enterprises JSC
Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukrposhta selected as a result of open competitions. By
the end of August it has been planned the introduction of electronic
declaration for public officials, and by August 1 – the transition of public
procurement to the ProZorro electronic system, which also will be an effective
mechanism to combat corruption.
Volodymyr Groysman pointed out
that cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and the full
implementation of the Association Agreement with the European Union remains
priority for the Government.
The Prime Minister informed that
on Thursday the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine had adopted the constitutional
amendments in the judiciary sector. "This is a very important
step for judicial reform, which will allow for upgrade in the judiciary branch
and restoration of the confidence of the citizens of Ukraine and investors, as
well as businessmen to the judiciary," he stressed.
Separately, the Prime Minister
drew attention to repair and construction of roads and transport corridors in
Ukraine. "On the one
hand, it is a good direction for the development of the domestic economy, on
the other hand, it is the formation of transport corridors and development of
transit potential of our country. The construction of these corridors
gives us significant advantages. We will focus our efforts on this,"
emphasized Volodymyr Groysman.
In his turn, World Bank Regional Vice
President for Europe and Central Asia Cyril Muller pointed out the Government's
decision to introduce a single market-based price for gas. "I was very impressed by
the determination of your actions towards putting the gas sector on a
sustainable development path and making all programs more efficient in the use
of energy," he highlighted.
"This is an important signal
that helps us complete the final steps for the launch of the project that
provides USD 500 million of guarantees for the purchase of gas," said the
Vice President of the World Bank.
The participants noted the
progress of Ukraine toward opening the final beneficial owners of companies.According to them, the
experience of Ukraine in this direction would be useful for many countries.
The representatives of the World
Bank have appreciated the Government's plans for carrying out reforms."Commitment to completing
the energy sector reform, judicial sector, building a strong financial sector
are those "stones" that will help build up a Ukraine attractive for
investment and will be the basis for further economic development,"
pointed out Cyril Muller.
The Vice President of the World Bank’s Europe and
Central Asia region called for speeding up the implementation of
investment projects in Ukraine.
Volodymyr Groysman informed that
he had instructed the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine to analyze these projects
and find out reasons of delay in their implementation. He also called for enhanced
bilateral cooperation and thanked the World Bank for its support to Ukraine.
"I would like to emphasize
the crucial role of the World Bank in maintaining Ukraine in implementation of
many projects. We appreciate the level of this cooperation. We are interested to
enhance our cooperation with the World Bank in order to quickly implement
reforms necessary for Ukraine," underlined Volodymyr Groysman
In his turn, the Vice President
of the World Bank’s
Europe and Central Asia assured the commitment of the World Bank to continue
working with Ukraine and to further implement investment programs.
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