Ukrainian business, which continues to work and strives to develop despite the war, should receive maximum support from the Government. This was stated by Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, in her speech at the Kyiv International Economic Forum.

“The main stakeholder for the Ministry of Economy is Ukrainian business, which has stayed in the country, pays taxes, keeps jobs, and tries to develop despite the martial law. Our task is to support this business. I hope that MPs will approve the draft budget for 2024, which includes expenditures to support the private sector. It is important for Ukrainian businesses to work, because it is the taxes and duties they pay that fund our army and the purchase of weapons. Supporting Ukrainian business is a matter of our country’s survival,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

According to the First Deputy Prime Minister, in the draft State Budget for 2024, the Government has earmarked over UAH 40 billion to finance business support programmes. In particular, UAH 18 billion is earmarked to support small and medium-sized businesses through affordable lending and more than UAH 3.5 billion through development grants. UAH 1.4 billion has been earmarked for grants to processing companies to encourage their creation and the expansion of existing ones, as Ukraine aims to increase the share of the processing industry in GDP from the current 10% to 20-25%.

Also, next year, the programme of compensation for the cost of domestically produced agricultural machinery will be resumed, with UAH 1 billion earmarked for this purpose. In addition, for the first time, the budget provides for funds for the development of industrial parks – UAH 1 billion, another UAH 3 billion to support the implementation of investment projects with significant investments, and UAH 2 billion for humanitarian demining, which is needed by farmers.

“Last year we had a significant economic decline of 29.6%, this year we are returning to growth – we forecast GDP growth of at least 4% this year and at least 5% next year. Logistical obstacles and export opportunities are a major challenge for us. If we can restore a permanent export corridor for agricultural and steel products, we can expect more optimistic economic growth forecasts. This is what we are actively working on,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.