KYIV. June 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Experts from the Agency for the Modernization of Ukraine plan to draw up a program on the country’s modernization by September, a representative of the agency, Austrian politician and former Foreign Minister and Finance Minister of Austria Michael Spindelegger has said.
“We’ve started work in late March. We hope that by the middle or end of September the program on Ukraine’s modernization will be ready and we will be able to present it to the public,” he said during a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.
He said that firstly, the program will be presented to the agency’s partners – the Federation of Employers of Ukraine and the Federation of Trade Unions, and then it will be presented to the public and then to the Ukrainian parliament.
“Our plans after September are to create the Fund for the Modernization of Ukraine. The fund would invest in small and medium-sized companies and infrastructure development,” he said.
When asked about the sources of financing for the agency, he said that the agency signed a contribution agreement with the financial group of Dmytro Firtash. However, the agreement states that the agency acts independently, he said.
“No director or section head feels pressure,” he said.
Spindelegger said the agency is currently expanding the platform of partners who will provide financial aid to the institution.
He said that Agency for the Modernization of Ukraine was founded in March 2015. It is based in Vienna (Austria).
