The EU has been Ukraine's largest trading partner for two years in a row. Moreover, the visa-free regime takes Ukraine closer to the EU's “four freedoms”: free flow of goods, services, labor and capital. So it is not surprising that the relations between Ukraine and Europe are evaluated in the context of the DCFTA and visa-free travel. But this scope is much broader and includes numerous relationships between NGOs, people and business.
Various aspects of those relationships will be reviewed at the discussion called "Ukraine–Europe. Win-Win Strategy" at the 2017 Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF). European and Ukrainian experts and businessmen will try to determine whether Europe is ready to expand trade preferences for Ukraine, how to attract European investors, and can Ukraine become a trade intersection between Europe and Asia.
The latter question becomes particularly relevant in the light of recent years, which many economists call the beginning of the "Asian century". Traditional Asian leading countries promote ideas of free trade and struggle for markets. Ukraine has its own interest in this attractive region, aiming to expand its market presence and aspiring for mutual investment.
The participants of the KIEF's "New Opportunities at the Beginning of the Asian Century" discussion will consider the Asian experience of innovative development, try to answer how those countries succeeded, and outline some common projects for consolidation of Asian and Ukrainian businesses. Among the participants there will be Dawood Al Shezawi, President of the Annual Investment Meeting (Dubai); Patrick Tsang, Chairman of Tsang’s & Co.; Jonathan Holslag, co-founder of the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies; Jonathan Woetzel, Director of the McKinsey Global Institute and Senior Partner, McKinsey & Co. Sergey Stanovkin, Head of the Regional Representative Offices of BBC Advertising, will be the moderator of the discussion.
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