KIEV, September 19 (Itar-Tass) — Ukraine is prepared for a possible world crisis, even better than some European states, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said on Monday.
Over recent time, the government has made Ukraine more resistible to a possible effect from a financial and economic crisis, the government’s press service said.
“The work the government has been doing for eighteen months made it possible to reduce the budget deficit, and it is a major anti-crisis measure, which allows us to say that we are prepared for a possible world crisis much better than we were back in 2008,” the prime minister said.
Azarov added that under the present conditions it is much easier to find financing to cover the budget deficit than it was in 2009.
“If in case of a crisis we fail to find foreign credit resources of 2.5 percent, we shall cover the deficit by domestic resources,” he said. “And it is much easier to cut expenses by 2.5 percent, than by 20 percent.”
He stressed that implementation of the government’s programme to replace import and to observe energy saving will enable Ukraine to save major amount of currency, and besides, the government will continue negotiating with Russia “revision of gas agreements of 2009, which are draconian for Ukraine.”
At the same time, Ukraine plans to increase its own production of natural gas from 2013 by 1.5 billion cubic metres, mostly by developing the Black Sea shelf.
Besides, Azarov said, the government hopes to keep dynamics of demand for Ukraine’s metal.
“We admit that in 2012 there will not be a major slump of demand for our metal, minding how Asia and Asian markets are developing,” he said.
Azarov promised that the government plans to adopt several measures to attract domestic investments, without which “foreign investors will not come to us.”