Letters

President of Ukraine
To Morgan Williams, the President of the US-Ukraine Business Council

Dear Morgan Williams,

Let me congratulate the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council [USUBC] and you personally on the occasion of 100th member joining USUBC, the Microsoft Corporation.

I would like to stress that the active efforts taken by USUBC fill with real substance the strategic partnership between our countries.

Effective work in the trade and investment sector of a number of organizations, USUBC included, has contributed to a significant growth in U.S.-Ukraine trade.

I hope that, assisted by the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, mutually beneficial cooperation between Ukrainian and American businesses will expand.

Sincerely yours,
Viktor Yushchenko

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OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER
GOVERNMENT OF UKRAINE
Kyiv, Ukraine

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Dear Colleagues:

Thank you for your commitment to investment in Ukraine.  Your perseverance in working in our country, in some cases over many years, is critical to Ukraine’s economic and commercial development.  The engagement of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) promotes the right business practices, and indeed, along with the European Business Association and the US Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, has been instrumental in the design and implementation of BYuT’s “Contract with Investors”.

While the road toward transparency and rule of law that supports sustainable investment is a difficult one, especially in a global environment with such grave challenges, you have my commitment to continue to work to this end.  Our work in government is to create the framework so that all foreign and domestic investors can operate in confidence.

Despite the political and financial turmoil, we have accomplished significant gains in refunding long overdue VAT refunds, progressed in our efforts to adopt a Joint Company Stock Law and we expect that the OPIC dispute will be resolved in the coming days.  But we have much more work to do.

I would ask that each and every one of you work in a transparent manner that conforms to Ukrainian and U.S. law, and in accordance with the best practices of the American business culture.  Ukraine can gain much from your engagement; as American business has so often done globally.  I ask you to lead by example in your business practices.

Again, my compliments to USUBC on its growth and my wishes for its continued success.

Sincerely
Yulia Tymoshenko
Prime Minister of Ukraine

To Morgan Williams,
President of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council

December 17, 2008

Dear Morgan Williams,

On behalf of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and on my own behalf let me congratulate the USUBC [U.S.-Ukraine Business Council] on the occasion of its 100th member, Microsoft.

Being an active player in the international business life, USUBC has successfully enrolled for cooperation a large number of world-famous companies.

I would especially like to emphasize the role of the USUBC in organizing of the 1st Bilateral Business Forum held within the framework of the founding session of the Ukraine-U.S. Council on Trade and Investment in October 2008 in Kyiv [Ministry of Economy and USTR]. We note with pleasure that close ties are being formed between the business circles and governments of our countries that open new avenues for investment and trade.

I hope that USUBC’s extensive experience in developing cooperation between government institutions will be handy in the run-up to the Council’s 2nd session due in 2009 in Washington.
Such cooperation is ample evidence of the soundness of the initiative launched by the Ministry of Economy aimed to attract U.S. companies’ representatives for cooperation with government interagency commissions and work groups responsible for decision-making in the area of entrepreneurship and business environment improvement.

I am convinced that mutually beneficial cooperation between Ukrainian and American financial and business circles will deepen the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States, expand investment both by a broader presence of US businesses on Ukrainian markets and of Ukrainian businesses on the U.S. markets.

Let me express my deep gratitude to all USUBC members and you personally for your support and wish you every success in strengthening the friendly ties between our countries.

Respectfully yours,

Bohdan Danylyshyn
Minister of Economy of Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine