The Ukrainian business community has obtained a permanent platform for communication with Spanish partners, as the Spain-Ukraine Business Council has been established with its first meeting held in Kyiv. This initiative was put forth by the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Embassy of Spain in Ukraine, the Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs.
The Council will include enterprises from both countries that are interested in developing business relationships and promoting their commercial interests within the joint networking. Among them are sunflower oil producer Ukroliya, ketchup and mayonnaise producer Chumak, Ukraine International Airlines, the Ukrmashbud Association of Machine Engineers of Ukraine, and others. The Spanish side will be represented by Fino Verde (vegetable production), Corte fiel (clothing), Credoline, and others. The initiators are convinced that their initiative will expand the possibilities of cooperation between Spain and Ukraine, will boost bilateral investment and trade whose level at the moment is far from the two economies’ potential.
Work in this direction started some time ago. In particular, the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs has held a series of business meetings, including visits to Spain where it has a representative office.
The First Consul of the Spanish Embassy to Ukraine, Jorge Soler, said that the establishment of the Business Council was on time, as it will give real impetus to the development of economic and trade relations. He also assured that the diplomatic mission would fully support the Council.
The Business Council aims to maintain a constant dialogue with the economic, social and political agents of both countries that could contribute to completing the tasks the economies of Spain and Ukraine are facing. It will represent and safeguard general interests of both countries. Its main tool will be, among other things, the establishment of direct contacts between the members of the Council and representatives of the companies to eliminate barriers to trade or investment. To achieve this, the Council will closely work with government agencies, other associations, public and private organizations that are interested in the development of economic relations.
The Ukrainian side has already presented a number of own initiatives to Spanish colleagues that might be interesting to them. In particular, First Vice President of the ULIE Vasyl Khmelnytsky briefed them on the Bila Tserkva Industrial Park, the adoption of regulations on IT development in Ukraine and on their prospects for foreign firms and corporations.
The partners agreed to put cooperation on the maximum practical track. This suggests conducting business meetings, forums, as well as exchanging contacts and ideas.
“We are going to create an atmosphere for sharing experience, case studies in doing business, and exchanging expert opinions,” participants in the meeting summed up.
