Infrastructure development, education, regulatory policy and ecology must become Ukraine’s priorities

The current economic crisis affected majority of economic institutions of the world. The crisis is of a systemic character and will last from two to four years at least. As an outcome of the crisis the economic policies of the most counties will shift towards the toughening of regulatory mechanisms.

This view was expressed at the 5th Davos Ukrainian Lunch by Thomas Friedman, one of the top futurologists of the present-day, The New York Times observer and the author of "The world is flat: A Brief History of The Twenty-first Century" book.

According to Friedman, Ukraine in the critical situation should precisely outline its strategic priorities that would define the country's competitiveness on the world market for the nearest decades. He suggested that infrastructure development, education, regulatory policy and ecology must become Ukraine's priorities.

"There are four major tasks for Ukraine. First: infrastructure, including public utilities, municipal economy and transport network. Second: the level of education that must be improved in order to integrate into the world and have presence in the world markets. Third: the regulatory policy of the government, tax policy, mobilisation of investments, formation of investment climate and appropriate reforms implementation. And fourth: environment", outlined Friedman.

Background:

Davos Ukrainian Lunch held by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation since 2005 has already become a customary event in Davos. The objective of the conference is to promote Ukraine among Western elites and help better understand political and investment climate of the country. This year's conference "Crisis: In & Out" focused on such issues as the impact of the economic crisis on Ukraine and the whole world, as well as feasible strategies for crisis tackling.

The key speakers at the Davos Ukrainian Lunch included Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine on European and International Integration Hryhory Nemyrya; Member of Parliament of Ukraine, Ex-speaker of Parliament of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk; financier, investor and philanthropist George Soros; famous columnist of The New York Times newspaper Thomas Friedman. The former European Commissioner for External Relations, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Co-chairman of the International Crisis Group Chris Pattern moderated the discussion.