Non-governmental organizations, businesses, analytical and research institutions, activists are joining hands to find ways to bring the Ukrainian economy out of crisis and develop a common, effective strategy for the country’s development.
The National Business Forum, co-organized by influential civic and business associations – the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Anti-Crisis Council of NGOs, the Ukrainian Business Initiative, the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, the Nova Kraina civil platform, and others, will take place at NSC Olimpiyskiy Complex in Kyiv on March 18. Young, active organizations, which have been established after the Revolution of Dignity, joined the large associations.
The latter stress that Ukraine has failed in the past years to elaborate its strategy for development; reforms in every sphere of social life are needed. The country’s economy is seen by international experts as weak and corrupt, its industrial potential has weakened, citizens’ buying capacity is on the decline, and there is no effective plan to overcome the crisis. The activists also consider that the government’s decision to sell strategic industrial and energy facilities amid the crisis is surprising, as their financial assessment could hardly be adequate.
“We’ve seen the business sector’s readiness to put off own corporate interests, get united with the public sector and start the formation of a common ‘corridor’ of national interests. It’s not about personalities; it’s about concrete tasks, terms and algorithms of their implementation. These are our priorities and what bring us to a discussion platform, which began to work long ago and will not end with the Forum on March 18,” co-founder of the Ukraine Is Me (uais.me) civil movement Serhiy Ivanov said.
In his words, the country is in dire need of working out common rules of the game, forming a transparent financial system, adopting liberal tax reform, and taking measures to strengthen the hryvnia.
Therefore, the NGOs call on everyone to join the Forum by sending their proposals and ideas.
“The process when society, businesses and think tanks get united is the first step towards a new, civilized form of pursuing the policy in the country,” Nova Kraina co-founder Vladyslav Olenchenko said. “The corporate sector cannot stand apart when public management is in crisis ‒ it has substantial resources and achievements it would like to share and is ready to actively cooperate for the development of the country.”
It should be mentioned that the Forum will bring together about two hundred business associations, industrial and business organizations, NGOs, analytical and research centers.
Their proposals will form the basis for a plan of urgent measures to overcome the social and economic crisis and draw up a strategy for the country’s further development and for an open joint statement on the situation in the country and ways to end the crisis. Members of the public and business structures say they are sure that the developed plan should be used as the basis for the government’s action program for the next two years.
Senior government officials, leaders of parliamentary factions, civil society leaders and representatives of the international community have been invited to the Forum.
