Ukrainian-Czech Chamber of Commerce head: Ukrainian economy must not go bankrupt
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Loading... - Agata Alex Kral
- 13 May 2022
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This week saw the establishment of the Ukrainian-Czech Chamber of Commerce. The organisation will support business cooperation between the two countries both during and after the war. To find out what this cooperation may look like, I spoke to the President of the Chamber Petr Krogman, a Czech businessman who owns a major agricultural company in Ukraine.
“Ukraine has to win this war, because Ukraine fights not just for itself but also for our freedom. It fights to prevent the Russian army being in Central Europe in two years’ time.
“The war will last for months, perhaps years. We know that Russia loves frozen conflicts, but we need to do business also in the meantime, so we must start immediately. We must not let the Ukrainian economy go bankrupt. It must work. It must go on. Ukrainians are ready to do that and we must help them.”
Since 2018, Czech companies have exported CZK 30 billion worth of products to Ukraine, of which roughly 60 percent were related to machinery and transport vehicles. Are these the sectors where you see most potential for cooperation between the Czech and Ukrainian business spheres, or are there some other ones that you would like to mention?
“This is mainly related to the automotive and machinery sectors and they will remain important areas of business.
“However, the reconstruction of Ukraine will be even more important and will also present a big opportunity for Czech companies. It will be necessary to rebuild shipment capacities and railroads.
“We should also note the construction industry, a lot of materials will be necessary for Ukraine. I also think that the railroads of Ukraine should be reconstructed towards European standards. That means the track gauges being built with European rather than Russian width. Read More...
