Dear ladies and gentlemen! Dear panelists!

Thank you for taking part in our public debate, organized by the Foundation of Effective Governance in partnership with the UK-based Intelligence Squared.

Last October in Moscow the FEG held the debate on: “Russia is Ukraine’s key partner to emerge from the economic crisis” in partnership with Russian newspaper Vedomosti. The event generated immense interest. The panelists presented compelling arguments. Hence we decided to debate upon the motion again, this time in Kyiv.

For every debate, we choose a topic very carefully. The subject should be hot, controversial and important for the country’s economy. We believe that despite the rhetoric of politicians, people are united by economy. That is why today we have decided to speak about the economic aspect of Ukrainian-Russian relations.

One of the lessons taught to the world by the economic crisis (I do not say that the crisis is already over) is the importance of useful alliances. Global economic transformations create numerous opportunities of successful cooperation with the Old World and new, rapidly growing economies. We firmly believe that Ukraine should concentrate its efforts on improving the investment climate and creating the most favorable conditions for both foreign and domestic inward investors and for all of its foreign economic partners.

Historical production ties, similar mentality, common markets and joint scientific potential have made Russia our long-term strategic partner. Yet the relations between our countries have been very complicated during the recent years. It is mainly explained by political reasons. However, in our today’s discussion, we would like to leave out all references to politics and view our relations through the prism of their economic value.

We are hopeful that the discussion will be useful and interesting. We also trust that the arguments presented by our panelists will help us make a more informed and intelligent opinion on the problem. We will express this opinion during the poll at the end of the debate.

We have bright and dedicated speakers today. Our moderator, journalist Zurab Alasania, will introduce them to you.

Thank you for your attention.