Yesterday at 20:06
Photo President Zelensky Press Office
Speaking at the Ukraine-Turkey Business Forum in Istanbul while on a working visit to Turkey, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outlined some specific steps he would like to have implemented to increase foreign investment as well as to make Ukraine a better place for the citizens.
He spoke about wanting to implement land reform in Ukraine.
“This year, we will definitely carry out a land reform which next year will allow us creating a 40 million hectares land market. It will be one of the highest quality in the world,” Zelensky said, a Ukrinform correspondent reports.
He added that some Turkish companies already owned land in Ukraine and expressed the hope that the number of such companies would grow.
“This especially concerns southern Ukraine, where there is a need to install and maintain reclamation systems. We are also looking for opportunities for public-private partnerships,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky also spoke about infrastructure development.
“Over the next five years, the country will change dramatically, our economy will grow at 5%-7% per year, and I invite Turkish business to join us. During this time, we will invest at least $20 billion in our infrastructure to build 24,000 kilometers of our roads, increase the number of working airports to 15, ensure the development of five seaports in order to significantly increase their capacity, and triple the capacity of our military and industrial complex,” Zelensky said.
He also spoke about allowing legalized casinos to operate in Ukraine.
“We will legalize gambling, namely the operation of casinos in five-star hotels which would stimulate the development of the tourism cluster in the Black Sea region. We want to grow in this area together [with Turkish business],” Zelensky said, a Ukrinform correspondent reports.
He told the people present at the forum that he does not want to view Turkish companies who invest or work in Ukraine as competitors, but as partners.
“Let’s promote the Black Sea tourism brand in the world together.”
In the IT sector, Zelensky spoke of continuing to actively develop the sector over the next five years of his presidential term.
“It’s not a secret to you that Ukraine is traditionally strong in IT. Therefore, we will pay much attention to the development of a high-quality telecommunications sector over the next five years,” a Ukrinform correspondent reports.
Zelensky praised the role of lifecell in the market and expressed hope that the mobile operator will be ready to take part in the development of 5G standards in Ukraine. lifecell is 100% owned by Turkish telecommunications company Turkcell.
Zelensky also stated that the problems which now exist in Ukraine – smuggling, corruption and post-Soviet restrictions – would soon be resolved.
“We know about them and don’t sit idly by. All these problems will soon be a thing of the past. So far, I give my word: you invest, I protect, we grow together.”
