At the official presentation of the Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme (BSTIP) for the Ukranian Business Support Organizations held at the Club of Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the United Nations Development programme (UNDP) has announced the findings of a recent study, which is carried out within the framework of the BSTIP.
The study, which comprises a comprehensive trade flow analysis in order to identify priority products and services having an intra-regional investment and trade potential in Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), indicates that the untapped business potential for Ukrainian enterprises in the BSEC region is worth USD 27 billion.
Francis O'DONNELL, Resident Coordinator of UN System in Ukraine and Valeriy PYATNYTSKIY, Deputy Minister of Economy, have opened the meeting highlighting the importance of BSTIP as the first ever private sector-driven programme having a holistic approach to economic integration in the region.
"UNDP office in Ukraine is pleased that we could act as a facilitator in this project. It's been largely viewed as a regional development project with a remarkable outcome both for state authorities and provate sector," O'Donnell said. "It's been very promising to see the project's prospective partners in Ukraine being remarkably inspired by the future cooperation within the project," he added.
The programme is expected to promote regional economic development, develop trade and investment linkages between BSEC Member States with positive impact on the reduction of poverty and offers improved dialogue among countries with political tensions. Increased trade and investment links will be generated with the private sector of the region and new partnerships will be developed with business support organizations.
The beneficiaries of the programme will be small and medium enterprises, and special emphasis will be given to enterprises managed by young and women entrepreneurs. The programme will be implemented in cooperation with local chambers of commerce and business support organizations.
Speaking during the presentation, Valeriy Pyatnytskiy favourably spoke about the project's planned activities and expected results. "Black Sea region is a considerably important region for our country. About one-third of foreign trade volumes are concentrated in this region. For us the project's framework creates yet another driving force to boost multi-lateral development cooperation in this remarkable region," he said.
National business support organizations in each of the BSEC country will be assigned the role of national focal point for the implementation of activities of the BSTIP. According to the UNDP programme manager, Giuseppe Belsito, indeed, the success of the Programme will depend critically on the active involvement of the business community in all BSEC Member States.
At the same time, the BSTIP will provide opportunity to create capacity within the business support institutions of the region to take advantage of the sub-regional trade and investment expansion opportunities on a permanent and sustainable basis.
"The project is very timely and beneficial. We fully support the methods and approaches employed by the project team to developing trade and investments in this region. Moreover, UN's contribution to this project would be very valuable, especially, in bringing the best international development expertise and creating an impartial cooperation platform," Viktor Ivchenko, the chairman of State Agency for Investments and Innovations said.
In addition, Genadiy Bilous, deputy head of the State Committee for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship, praised the newly-presented initiative, underlining the potential for its overall success in the entire region."It is extremely relevant for Ukraine, where about 10 mn people are engaged in the private sector, working in small and medium enterprises. We would very much appreciate if the project helps our beneficiaries in bringing their operations in line with European standards," he added.
The Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme is co-financed by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Greek Ministry of Economy and Finance, UNDP and BSEC. It is the first programme jointly co-financed by the Government of Turkey and Greece under the auspices of UNDP and is also the first partnership project between UNDP and BSEC.
Photo report.
31.10.07
