Business must become a driver and active participant in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine: Denys Shmyhal

Over five months of this year, businesses have paid more than UAH 1.5 trillion in taxes and fees to the state budget. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during the Forum of State and Business: From Dialogue to Partnership, which was held with the participation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The event also gathered First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, foreign partners and business representatives.

"We direct all internal resources to our Security and Defence Forces. The successful work of business is converted into security dividends for all Ukrainians. In weapons, ammunition, and salaries for our defenders. The private sector of the economy has been, remains and will be the core of the state's defence capability," the Prime Minister stressed.

He noted that the interaction between the Government and the business community was a constant and frank conversation.

"Following our last meeting, we are currently working on about 20 objectives. These include liberalisation of currency regulation, export of agricultural products, assistance to relocated enterprises and many other issues," said Denys Shmyhal and added that the Pulse platform had been launched to provide feedback on the quality of public services.

The Prime Minister informed that the Government was working in several directions to improve the business environment in Ukraine. The first of these is a comprehensive deregulation. According to him, about 2,000 regulatory instruments in various sectors of the economy have already been cancelled, and a bill to remove more than another 60 regulatory bureaucratic barriers has been submitted to the Parliament.

Denys Shmyhal called digitalisation the second area of government support for businesses.

"About 30 services and digital documents are available in the Diia app, and more than 130 on the Diia portal. We have launched the e-Entrepreneur service, which combines 13 services for those who want to start and develop their own business," the Prime Minister said. He also reminded that the Cabinet of Ministers had recently taken a decision to create an Entrepreneur's Online Office on the Diia.Business platform.

An important area of support, according to Denys Shmyhal, is the comprehensive programme ‘Made in Ukraine’ initiated by the President of Ukraine.

He said that during the full-scale war, entrepreneurs had received UAH 319 billion in soft loans under the 5-7-9 programme, more than UAH 7 billion in microgrants to start their own businesses, and almost UAH 5 billion to equip processing facilities. Support for Ukrainian exports totalled over UAH 25 billion. The Government reimburses 25% of the cost of Ukrainian agricultural machinery and 15% of the cost of industrial machinery and energy equipment. About a hundred industrial parks have been registered.

"We regard business as a driver and active participant in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. We plan to fully activate the mechanisms of public-private partnership so that all parties receive maximum benefits," emphasized Denys Shmyhal.