Today, June 25, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv opened the IV Local Development Forum in Truskavets, Lviv region.

In his statement, Stepan Kubiv noted that, despite the difficult environment, the Government had ensured a total GDP growth + 8.4% in three years, and recently the State Statistics Service increased the preliminary estimate of GDP growth in the first quarter of 2019 from 2.2% to +2.5 %.

"A decentralization reform has become a powerful driving force for regional development, while Lviv is invariably a leader among the most successful regions of Ukraine. Thus, in the first quarter of this year, the growth of capital investments amounted to almost 15%, the volume of export of goods has grown by almost 20%, and the real wage improved by almost 10% as compared to the similar period last year", said Stepan Kubiv.

The First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine added that 6 out of the 39 industrial parks registered in Ukraine are located in Lviv region, which means about 20 thousand new jobs. Another 6 such parks can be established in the near future.

"Among the potential projects that could be implemented at regional levels, a pilot PPP project was selected - the establishment of the Minimal Intervention Surgery Center in Truskavets. Recently, I have signed a Memorandum with the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group to attract international experts and international experience in working on public-private partnership projects", stressed Stepan Kubiv.

Moreover, the First Deputy Prime Minister added that PPP is an effective tool for attracting large investments in the construction of road infrastructure, ports, bridges and large infrastructure objects, as well as providing broadband Internet connection throughout the entire territory of Ukraine.

"We already have several pilot projects and even investors who expect an opportunity to participate in these projects. I can add: the implementation of such projects means high-quality roads and an additional 5-7% to annual GDP growth. And also dozens of thousands new jobs, especially in the regions of Ukraine", said the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine.

Stepan Kubiv told that the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade engages in support for the small and medium-sized businesses. Over the past year, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has organized 34 events, which gathered 1,500 entrepreneurs in 17 regions of Ukraine to consider the opportunities provided by the EU COSME program. This offers to leverage about EUR 50 million for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. Due to cooperation with Germany in 2016-2018, 437 Ukrainian entrepreneurs took part in this program and signed contracts to the tune of EUR 12 million.

"Access to high-quality administrative services is improving for business and citizens: currently, 787 administrative service provision centers are operating in Ukraine, 95 remote locations for the center administrators have been established, as well as 3 mobile centers. All this has a positive impact on the business climate in Ukraine, and thus on the growth of incomes of Ukrainian families. This is the basis for shaping a strong middle class in Ukraine", said Stepan Kubiv.

The First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine also outlined the priority directions for reforms in the economic bloc, namely: support and promotion of exports; business climate simplification; public procurement reform; the reform of state property management; development of industry and defense-industrial complex; intellectual property reform and the development of the digital economy and innovation.