KYIV. March 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine has the real potential to become a laboratory of new technologies, Ukrainian businessman Konstantin Grigorishin has said.
“Ukraine has human resources, especially in engineering, needed to develop infrastructure wisely and to make use of technological advantages from more developed countries,” he said in an interview with U.S. publication Clean Energy posted on Tuesday.
The government should create programs to eliminate the existing GDP gap and to achieve economic growth of 6-8% annually during the next 20 years.
“If it does not do this, the country will not survive,” he said.
Grigorishin said that the country needs a new Marshall Plan. Today the amount could be worth $200 billion.
“This is not such a big sum for many countries. If Ukraine is given technologies and a market, we can achieve the growth rate I have mentioned,” he said.
Commenting of advantages of Ukraine, the businessman named “an educated and qualified population that can work for the space industry, for example, a good climate and good logistics.”
“Ukraine is a unique destination for infrastructure investments, with acceptable risks and high returns. Ukraine’s infrastructure is worn out, but this it is an excellent opportunity for Ukraine to build everything from scratch,” he said.
The businessman said that there is potential in new kinds of transportation, probably in the artificial intelligence realm as well as new kinds of chemical and food production, renewable electricity, energy storehouses (this will be a big new industry in the near future).
Commenting on reforms in the energy sector, he said that Ukraine should forget about coal and outdated plans for centralized heating.
“Instead, we believe green renewable energy is the future,” he said.
The best temporary solution for Ukraine during the transition is to have a “green phase” – new, combined-cycle natural gas power plants.
“If we enter into a partnership with the West, we will be able to create technologies for the new generation. We can also establish services and new investment in gas and oil production right here, localized in Ukraine. We need credit resources and the settling of the situation in Crimea and Donbas. And we need corporate partners and a long-term strategy with corporations at the level of General Electric, UTC and Boeing,” he said.
“It is silly to take seriously the economic nonsense that Ukraine is to become an agricultural superpower. Are we living in the 17th century? What is “an agricultural superpower”? Do we have to live in small villages and be farmers? Is it our future? Taking into account the fact that value-added in agriculture is low, it is impossible to become a superpower on the basis of agriculture,” he said.
Commenting on relations with Russia, Grigorishin said that Crimea will fade as a problem when Ukraine proves that its economic and social model is preferable.
He said that it does not mean that Ukraine should solve this problem via a military operation.
“Ukraine has many other tools: sanctions, political pressure to name a few. Ukraine needs this time to offer citizens of the Crimea persuasive arguments. It is not enough simply to say, “You must be Ukrainians and speak Ukrainian.” Ukraine must strive to become an attractive state that all people are willing to join,” he said.
