RIYADH, 13 March 2006 — Saudi-Ukrainian relations are on course for a big leap with the decision of the two governments to establish a $1 billion joint investment company to set up joint ventures in the Kingdom and promote exports in third countries.
In a joint interview with Arab News, Ukraine’s Ambassador Leonid Hurianov and the Head of Trade and Economic Mission at the Ukraine Embassy Oleg Todchuk said a decision to this effect was taken at the second meeting of the Saudi-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Committee on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation held in the Ukrainian capital Kiev recently.
Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Hashim Yamani led a 40-member Saudi delegation, while the Ukrainian side was represented by Minister of Economy A. Yatsenyuk. Todchuk from the Ukrainian Embassy was also present.
During his four-day visit to that country, Yamani and his accompanying delegation had talks with the prime minister, the minister of economy, the minister of foreign affairs and the minister of industrial policy.
They signed two protocols for investment protection and investment promotion between the two countries. It was also decided to set up a joint shipping company as part of the move to beef up the bilateral trade to $1 billion by 2007. To this end, exhibitions will be held in both countries to create an awareness of business potential between them.
The ambassador said the joint investment company will be funded equally by businessmen from both countries. It will function under the umbrella of the Saudi-Ukrainian Business Council, which will help identify the potential areas of cooperation for setting up joint ventures. While the capital input will come from the Kingdom, technology transfer will be facilitated by the Ukrainian partner of the joint business council.
Noting that bilateral trade had soared more than tenfold from $36.3 million in 2004 to $389.5 million last year, Ambassador Hurianov said the potential for further increasing trade was enormous. However, he pointed out that the balance of trade tilted heavily in favor of Ukraine, with Saudi exports constituting no more than $3 million to his country. “This situation is unacceptable. Ideally, we would like to have a balanced flow of trade between the two countries,” he observed.
A major bottleneck in the expansion of commercial ties, he said, was the absence of Saudi diplomatic mission in Kiev. This meant that Ukrainian businessmen have to travel to Moscow to apply for visa, since the Saudi ambassador to Russia is accredited concurrently to Ukraine. However, Yamani, who also met with Ukraine’s foreign minister, discussed the possibility of opening the Saudi Embassy in Kiev. Such a step would give a shot in the arm to the bilateral trade, he observed.
Regarding the potential for enhancing trade, Todchuk mentioned Ukraine’s national carrier Antonov ASTC which manufactures more than 100 different types of transport, passenger and multipurpose aircraft. “Since the Kingdom has privatized the aviation sector, we see a good scope in supplying passenger aircraft to the new Saudi private airlines that are being established.” He added that the embassy would be contacting representatives of the travel industry to explore the avenues of cooperation in this regard.