On January 25, 2018 in Davos (Switzerland), the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and international investment advisory group EastOne held the annual Davos Ukrainian Breakfast, their traditional private event organized at the occasion of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Among the speakers were the President of Ukraine, H.E. Petro Poroshenko, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Chrystia Freeland, First Deputy Managing Director of IMF David Lipton, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger, President of Poland (1995-2005) Alexander Kwasniewski, and Secretary General of NATO (2009-2014), Prime Minister of Denmark (2001-2009) Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The discussion was moderated by Fareed Zakaria, host of Zakaria GPS on CNN.

Opening the event, the businessman and philanthropist Victor Pinchuk said: “For almost 15 years we do our Ukrainian event in Davos. You know why I decided this? Because, when I came to Davos for the first time in 2004, I understood, this is a unique place. Once I told Klaus Schwab, I admire that in Davos he created a Facebook – before the Internet – a network for the world’s most powerful players.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Chrystia Freeland has assured that Canada supports Ukraine, its sovereignty and integrity, however the country should continue implementing the reforms: “I think Ukraine has done a lot, maybe even more then it is generally given credit for, I think what happened with Nafrogaz, what happened with Privat Bank, the health reform, the pension reform, these are very deep and meaningful changes. I am not sure if 5 years ago many of us would have thought they were possible.” She has also underlined: “We in the international community have responsibility to support Ukraine on the security side this is about the rule based on international order. When it comes to reforms in Ukraine you have to do it. You have done a lot but I am sad to say there is still more to do. You have to hold the course and make these changes because it really is a historical moment. There is really an opportunity for this to be, I would say, a turning point of Ukrainian history.”

First Deputy Managing Director of IMF David Lipton has said that during the previous three and a half years the country faced a lot of challenges however the situation is stabilizing and “the growth has begun but it is very low and not always sustainable.” He believes that it is high time to continue working on reforms: “What really remains to be done it is all in the area of governance and proper role of the state in protecting a properly right and protecting enterprise. I think these are three biggest things for the government left to be done […] are stopping corruption and in particular establishing a credible and anticorruption court and then using that court to help end corruption in privatization […] and then the third is land reform.”

At his speech the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko told that the recent autumn was a time of successful reforms: “Autumn of the reform means pension reform, especially for survivals, sometimes very unpopular, but absolutely necessary.” He continued “I’m proud that this year this is the first time when I had a lot of requests from the foreign investors about meeting with me. It has never happened such a big number of the top players on investment market like this year. What country now is among top priority of the investments to come on the emerging market is Ukraine, but this is important achievement during the autumn of the reform but not enough.”

The major discussion of this year’s Davos Ukrainian Breakfast is related to the main topic of the 48th WEF Annual Meeting, Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World. It is in this very context that Ukraine will be debated over: investments, reform, achievements, issues, challenges and other questions. The world is changing, and it is facing major challenges. Despite certain success in the reform, Ukraine still has lots to do. Where is Ukraine heading in the changing environment? How can international partners support Ukraine in its struggle for territorial integrity, freedom and building up a country that is founded on the European values? What can international partners learn from Ukraine’s experience?

Leaders from politics, business, civil society and the media from Ukraine and the world attended the event, among them: Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden (2006-2014) and Prime Minister of Sweden (1991-1994); Ash Carter, U.S. Secretary of Defense (2015–2017); Oleksandr Danylyuk, Minister of Finance of Ukraine; Pavlo Klimkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kiev; Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Vice Prime Minister for European and Euroatlantic Integration; Volodymyr Omelyan, Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine; Timo Soini, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland; Radoslaw Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs (2007-2014); Timothy Snyder, the Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale University.

The Davos Ukrainian Breakfast has been organized annually since 2005 to promote Ukraine and bring Ukrainian and international leaders together.

In addition to Davos Ukrainian Breakfast the Victor Pinchuk Foundation together with other partners, Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) and the Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (UVCA), organized the Ukraine House, which operates in Davos January 22-26, 2018.

Contacts for media-inquires:
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Partners of the Davos Ukrainian Breakfast 2018

• Alfa-Bank Ukraine
• Arawak Energy
• Horizon Capital
• International Renaissance Foundation
• Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF)

Alfa-Bank Ukraine

Alfa-Bank Ukraine is a major Ukrainian commercial bank with international capital. The bank is owned by a private investment holding company ABH Holdings S.A. (ABHH, Luxembourg) with investments in financial institutions in Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands and Russia, having representative offices in Cyprus and the United Kingdom.

Alfa-Bank Ukraine was founded in 1992 and is one of the most sustainable and reliable banks in Ukraine holding leading positions in all segments of the banking market. The bank is among the top 10 financial institutions in the country in terms of assets according to the data of the National Bank of Ukraine.

Arawak Energy

Arawak Energy: 100 pct. owned by Vitol

Vitol’s onshore assets are managed by Arawak Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary. Active since 1995, now with oil and gas production, development and exploration operations in Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan. It also has operations in Mexico. Arawak Energy has more than 500 permanent staff; offices in Dubai, Kyiv, Poltava, Almaty, Aktobe, Baku, Mexico, Poza Rica. The company has 22 onshore blocks: Ukraine – 17, Azerbaijan – 3, Mexico – 1, Kazakhstan – 1. Reserves: total 2P reserves of ~215 mmboe.

Horizon Capital

Horizon Capital is the leading private equity firm in Ukraine backed by over 40 institutional investors, managing four funds with assets under management of over $700 million and a tenure of 25 years in the region. Horizon Capital is an active value-added investor, backing visionary entrepreneurs who lead transformational businesses in Ukraine & the region. Company’s investment strategy is focused primarily on export-driven companies and selected domestic champions in fast-growing sectors of the economy, including IT, light manufacturing, food and agriculture, e-commerce and pharmacy.

International Renaissance Foundation

The International Renaissance Foundation (IRF) is one of Ukraine’s largest charities, aiming at fostering an open, participatory, pluralist society based on democratic values. IRF is part of the Open Society Foundations network, established by investor and philanthropist George Soros. 

IRF provides support to civil society’s contributions to fighting corruption, protecting human rights and civil liberties, designing, implementing, and monitoring reforms in the areas of decentralization, deregulation, education, and public health ), improving quality of public policy-making, facilitating access to justice and unpaid legal aid, and access to public information, and support for people affected by the war in the Donbas.

Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF)

Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) is a $150 million regional fund, a pioneer in Ukraine and Moldova with more than two decades of successful experience in investing in small and medium-sized companies. WNISEF was funded by the U.S. government via the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Since its inception, WNISEF’s cumulative investments total over $168 million to 118 companies employing around 25 000 people and made it possible to unlock $1.5 billion for companies in Ukraine and Moldova. WNISEF is funding innovative, high-impact, reform focused programs and aims to support Ukraine and Moldova at this critical period by developing sound economic policy and leadership.