UA Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko paid an official working visit to Switzerland

UA Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko paid an official working visit to Switzerland as part of the implementation of the action plan, elaborated and agreed upon during the recent meeting in Kyiv between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskii and President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga.

In Zurich, the Minister met with the CEO of the Switzerland's largest bank UBS Group Sergio Ermotti, during which the parties discussed the prospects of returning to the Ukrainian market of banks with Swiss capital, including UBS group's participation in the privatization of the Ukrainian state-owned banks. Sergio Ermotti stressed that the Group is looking at the Ukrainian market with interest. In particular, UBS monitored Ukraine's success during the recent Eurobond transaction, as UBS and Ukraine had fruitful cooperation in the past regarding investments into the Ukrainian sovereign Eurobonds.

"It was really a very successful transaction, which arouse great interest from international investors. This is a sign of positive structural changes in Ukraine and progress in implementing reforms," - said Sergio Ermotti.

The parties also discussed the UBS group's potential support for infrastructure projects within the framework of the “Large Construction” project initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskii.

 "Our priority is the development of infrastructure and roads in Ukraine. UBS has excellent experience in financing such projects," - said Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko.

During the meeting between Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko and Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Finance Uli Maurer in Bern, the parties agreed to deepen cooperation in implementing infrastructure projects in Ukraine and hold a joint round table on this issue in the near future.

Ministers discussed key areas of the two countries' debt policies, including the Swiss “debt brake” mechanism, which was introduced in 2003 to avoid critical structural imbalances in federal finances and which is anchored in the Federal Constitution. The Ministers agreed to continue sharing experience in implementing debt policy strategies of both countries.

Following the negotiations, the parties agreed to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding, a roadmap for the implementation of the provisions thereof will be developed in the near future during the Ukrainian-Swiss round table between central banks, the ministries of finance, and key stakeholders.

Also, during the working visit to Switzerland, the Minister discussed with Hereditary Crown Prince Alois of Liechtenstein the possibility of concluding a bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the Principality of Liechtenstein on the avoidance of double taxation.

"Active political dialogue between our countries has been going on since 2018. We are glad that today we have the opportunity to continue it in the field of finance," - said the Minister and thanked the Crown Prince for inviting the team of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine to hold relevant working meetings and consultations in Liechtenstein in November this year.

In Bern, the Minister of Finance together with the Ambassador of Ukraine to Switzerland Artem Rybchenko met with the winner of the World Cup in freestyle Enver Ablaev and Olympic champion Alexander Abramenko, who as part of the Ukrainian team undergo summer training at a sports base in the canton of Aargau, as well as with the Ukrainian-Swiss business association, where they discussed the investment attractiveness of Ukraine, exchange of experience regarding the tools to support small and medium-sized businesses, and the prospects of constructing new sports facilities of international importance, in particular, training bases for freestyle athletes.

Also, during his visit to the Swiss Confederation, the Minister met with Christopher Mouravyov-Apostol, a partner of Pictet Group, one of the top-3 largest Swiss banks. They discussed the reform of the banking sector and the strategy of Ukraine's debt policy. The Minister stressed that Ukraine is interested in returning Swiss capital to Ukraine. The parties discussed the possibility of organizing a Ukrainian-Swiss investment forum in Kyiv.

Concluding the visit, the Minister met with representatives of the investment fund Vontobel, one of Switzerland's largest investors in Ukrainian government Eurobonds and domestic government bonds.  The parties discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ukraine's economy, the Government's measures taken to tackle the negative effects of the crisis, and progress in implementing the IMF program.