On October 7-8, 2011 the 2nd International Black Sea Economic Forum took place in Yalta. The Forum takes place annually by initiative of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea with the goal of attracting investment to the peninsula’s economy and developing cooperation between the countries of the Black Sea Basin. This year over 250 delegates from 14 countries participated in the Forum. Among them were high-ranking members of the Ukrainian government and of the governments of other Black Sea countries. Top managers of leading companies in the region and leading internationally-recognized experts also participated.
This year’s Forum focused on such priorities as interregional cooperation, the potential for attracting foreign and internal investments and enhancing the competitiveness of the Black Sea countries’ economies. Other topics included developing the region’s agricultural sector and tourism. Cooperation agreements between the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and for technical assistance projects were signed during the Forum, as were interregional agreements on intensifying cooperation between Crimea and Ukraine’s regions - the Kharkiv, Odessa, Kherson and Nikolaev regions and the city of Sevastopol.
During the Forum Ukrainian government representatives Borys Kolesnikov, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure, and Anatoliy Bliznuyk, Minister of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Communal Services, discussed state economic policy priorities and planned measures to improve cooperation in the region.
Discussing Crimea’s development potential, Mr. Kolesnikov stressed a project to develop a contemporary resort complex on the western Crimean coast. “We’re currently working on a development project for western Crimea. We have already chosen the plots and studied the transportation component. Plans include building a new 63-km long highway between Simferopol and Yevpatoria. We will also strengthen Crimea’s energy and water supply in order to create a real new Black Sea resort by the fall of 2012,” he said.
Anatoliy Bliznuyk emphasized that, within the context of regional development, the government sees Crimea as a most promising growth point. “Crimea has obtained significant experience in preparing a project base for regional development and designing specific investment projects. It’s one of the most attractive regions for foreign investors and is one of the top ten Ukrainian regions in terms of volume of attracted foreign investment, which is positively affecting the development of the entire Black Sea region,” he noted.
Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira, Head of the EU Delegation in Ukraine, approved of Crimea’s strategic role. “Two years ago we launched a joint initiative that is now producing results. The Agency for Crimea’s Regional Development was created. It works in the area of social infrastructure development programs. In addition, a very important program for the technical support of tourism and direct foreign investment will soon launch in Sevastopol,” he said.
Kateryna Yurchenko, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the ARC for matters of financial and economic activity, in commenting on Crimea’s development strategy, pointed out that the main goal until 2020 is the steady growth of the quality of life of the Crimean people, dynamic economic development and implementation of Ukraine’s strategic interests in the Black Sea region. Discussing the sources for this strategy’s implementation, Ms. Yurchenko said, “The financial sources for implementing the strategy are included in the operational plan for the first stage (2011-2013): there are about 1,000 projects, worth about 4.5 billion euros. They are included in state programs dedicated to such aspects of the peninsula’s life as water supply for Crimea, transport infrastructure and environmental safety, all of which requires financing of 3.5 billion euros for 10 years; these projects are also part of 19 republic-level programs with a financing volume that amounts to 40 million euros annually.”
Discussing the creation of a 21st-century agricultural sector throughout the Black Sea region, Mykola Prysyazhnyuk, Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Supply of Ukraine, pointed out the need to create a Black Sea commodity exchange that will secure the food balance in the region and provide producers with the means they need to produce goods. “This step will stimulate the development of a grain market in the Black Sea region and attract investment into the grain business. That infrastructural segment will be useful to all participating countries,” he said.
Foreign representatives also spoke in favor of infrastructure project development in the Black Sea basin. Rashid Ismailov, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian National Committee on Black Sea Economic Cooperation, in particular, cited construction of a road around the Black Sea as a key project for the region.
In the course of the Forum investors shared their experiences with doing business in the Black Sea region and discussed the particularities of the investment climates of separate countries. Dario Marchetti, General Director of Danon Ukraine, talked about building up his company’s business in Ukraine. “There is no reason for a long-term investor not to be interested in coming to Ukraine,” he said. Ivica Čačić, Regional Representative for Southeastern Europe and Ukraine of Marriott Hotels International, also said the Ukrainian market was an attractive one.
Overall, the Forum received high ratings from business representatives; they noted the openness on the part of the authorities, which helps in building a constructive dialog. Denis Khrenov, Director for legal matters and corporate relations at SAN InBev Ukraine, said, “Our company, one of the largest investors in the Ukrainian economy, is directly interested in the development of the country as a whole and of its separate regions in particular. We’re thus happy to support the International Black Sea Economic Forum, which guarantees an effective dialog between business and its stakeholders on an international level towards the development of the investment attractiveness of the entire Black Sea region.”
Among the numerous honorable participants of the Forum were Archil Kekelia, First Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Olivier Adam, UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine, Federico Bonaglia, Head of Policy Dialogue Division Development Centre, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Karin Rau, Delegate of German Economy in Ukraine, İsmail Safi, Head of the National Delegation of Turkey to the PABSEC, Member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Oleg Ustenko, Executive Director at The Bleyzer Foundation, Rachel Ziemba, Director of Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) and global macroeconomic issues at Roubini Global Economics, Igor Burakovsky, Head of the Board of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, Prof. Bernd von Droste, Founding director of the Unesco World Heritage Center, Andriy Ermolaev, Director of the National institute of strategic researches, David Lovegrove, Director, International Development Ireland LTD, Julia V. Santos, Director - Head of Worldwide Strategic Outsourcing, Johnson & Johnson, John F. Tercek, Vice President, Commercial and New Business Development, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Kateryna Yurchenko, Deputy Head, Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea on financial and economic activities and others.
Black Sea Economic Forum is an annual international platform for the dialogue of leading government and business representatives in the Black Sea region, organized under the auspices of President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych by the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. In 2010 Forum brought together over 250 participants from the Black Sea basin countries, such as: Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan.