Zelensky invites Turkey to invest in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited Turkish businesses to invest in Ukraine as he expects that Ukraine's economy will be growing at 5%-7% of GDP. "In the following years, Ukraine [the country's economy] will grow rapidly, up to 5%-7% (of GDP) annually. To this end, we will carry out a number of necessary reforms this autumn, which will make Ukraine a 'magnet' for foreign investors," he said at a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

The event was broadcast on the Facebook page of the Ukrainian president's Office on August 7. "We have already begun active work in this direction and I'm pleased to invite Turkish businesses to visit Ukraine," Zelensky added. In particular, the Ukrainian president invited the Turkish side to join in the restoration of infrastructure facilities in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. "I've invited the Turkish side to join in the restoration of infrastructure facilities in eastern Ukraine. We look forward to its active participation in the international forum for the restoration of Donbas, which we plan to hold in Mariupol this autumn," he said. In addition, the Ukrainian president said that the eighth meeting of Ukraine-Turkey High Level Strategic Council would be held in Kyiv late this year. "We have agreed on further expansion of trade, economic, and investment cooperation. In 2018, our bilateral trade amounted to over US$4 billion. And I'm sure that this is far from the limit of our potential," he said. "I am glad to invite Turkish businesses to us. I'm the guarantor of your comfortable work in Ukraine. Let's grow together," the president added. As UNIAN reported earlier, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) raised its forecast for the growth of Ukraine's real gross domestic product in 2019 to 3% from 2.5% projected before. The regulator's outlook for 2020 was also revised upwards to 3.2% from an earlier 2.9%, while the forecast for 2021 remained unchanged at 3.7%. According to the NBU, the inflation outlook has also remained unchanged at 6.3% this year and 5% both in 2020 and 2021. Ukraine's national budget for 2019 is based on 3% growth of real GDP amid 7.4% inflation. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank project a 2.7% growth in Ukraine's economy in 2019 amid 7.3% inflation. According to the consensus forecast compiled by UNIAN based on experts' estimates, the country's economic growth in 2019 will slow to 2.8%, while consumer price growth to 7.2%.