Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry offers new economic opportunities for Ukrainian exporters and attracts foreign investors to Ukraine, and has helped 137 Ukrainian companies enter new foreign markets since 2020, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated during an online press briefing on Thursday, 30 September. 

“Strong economy forms a solid basis for a strong country with a strong foreign policy. The Foreign Policy Strategy of Ukraine prioritizes economic diplomacy. Economic muscles give confidence to achieve ambitious goals. This is exactly what we are working on," the minister emphasized. 

Dmytro Kuleba announced that he signed a document reforming the Foreign Ministry’s domestic procedures in assisting business, developing trade and attracting foreign investment entitled “Procedures for Economic Affairs Divisions in Foreign Diplomatic Missions of Ukraine”. 

The document defines evaluation criteria for diplomats dealing with economic issues and introduces specific indicators to determine the role of a particular diplomatic mission in achieving economic results. Among them, the number of markets opened for groups of Ukrainian goods; organized meetings of Ukrainian companies with foreign partners; names of companies that have entered the market of a foreign country; figures of attracted foreign investment etc.

“We are introducing effective practices in the MFA that are already working in the corporate sector. We institutionalised the procedures we have been using for over a year already," the minister underscored.  

Dmytro Kuleba informed of 137 Ukrainian companies which have been able to enter foreign markets with the assistance of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and foreign diplomatic missions of Ukraine since the new Ukrainian government began its work in March 2020. Together with the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the Foreign Ministry opened or restored access to markets in 18 countries for 59 Ukrainian domestic commodity groups. Recent examples include honey and bee products exports to Qatar, dairy products exports to Turkey, poultry exports to Liberia, poultry and eggs exports to Japan and others.  

“Results speak for themselves. I am pleased that Ukrainian business circles positively assess the Foreign Ministry’s work and see reliable partners in diplomats. This is the reason why the number of companies in the Exporters and Investors Council under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has almost quadrupled within a year. In 2020, we had around a hundred members of this council. Now it includes 370 member companies and business associations. Business is attracted to partners who provide real assistance in actions, not words,” the minister concluded. 

Dmytro Kuleba urged Ukrainian companies to further develop their exporting culture as well as cooperate effectively and constructively with the Foreign Ministry in order to jointly achieve further successes.