Kyiv, 10 May 1998 (RFE/RL) - Ukrainian officials today told the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's board meeting in Kyiv that the country's economic reforms are slow, but are moving in the right direction.
Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Tyhypko pledged to make Ukraine's energy sector self-supporting in a bid to attract EBRD financing for its nuclear energy projects. The EBRD is conducting a new study into the financing of Ukraine's nuclear sector following the bank's rejection last year of financing for Soviet-designed nuclear reactors at Khmelnitsky and Rivne. Kyiv has said it will go ahead and build those reactors with or without international support.
Tyhypko told potential foreign investors that no sector of Ukraine is closed to them, and that there are no limits on foreign ownership of Ukrainian firms. He also said that although the newly elected parliament is dominated by socialists and communists, he expects the assembly to support government initiatives aimed at attracting foreign investment. He said he expects this support to come from about 150 businessmen who were elected to the 450-seat parliament.
Meanwhile, National Bank governor Viktor Yushchenko reconfirmed his commitment to keep the country's foreign exchange corridor within a range of 1.85 to 2.25 hyrvnia per U.S. dollar.
