NEW YORK. June 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Head of Odesa Regional Administration Mikheil Saakashvili has pointed at out the good potential position of Odesa City as a regional transport, logistic, tourist and IT hub in the Black Sea region, and said he plans to realize this potential.
Odesa has many advantages, in particular, well-educated and talented people, and stunning tourist potential, he said.
“We would provide investors with protection from extortion and blackmail, which have been hindering economic growth so far,” he said at the Ukrainian Investment Day conference organized by Concorde Capital Investment Company in New York on June 19.
Saakashvili added that Odesa airport has also good prospects.
The governor said he plans to create as favorable as possible conditions for business and attracting investment, irrespective of volume. Electronic registration will be introduced, easy land provision will be ensured, and the police, customs and tax services’ operation will be radically changed.
“These will be first pilot projects in Ukraine,” he said.
Saakashvili highly assessed Ukraine’s investment prospects. He said that when he was president of Georgia, his country passed through war and embargo, however thanks to a policy of growth its economy exhibited two-digit figures.
He said Ukraine currently has several advantages: a new generation of people, democracy and a developed civil society, de-communization, a high level of education and a low workforce cost
“Ukraine is Europe’s China,” he added.
