KIEV, January 4 (Itar-Tass) — Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said the previous Cabinet "has not fully completed its tasks in implementing reforms and ensuring economic upturn, "so the 2012 year results are worse than expected."
The new government, together with scientists and entrepreneurs, is to prepare, within the shortest possible time, a package of economic restructuring measures with the view of expanding the domestic market. "Among the key instruments in achieving this objective I see active implementation of the import substitution policy, the transfer to a system policy of social justice and continuing the deregulation policy," Yanukovich said in an interview to the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda in Ukraine, published on Friday.
In his opinion, the government will have to look for the keys to success in difficult external economic conditions. "The instability in world financial markets and the recession in a number of the eurozone countries implies more expensive external investment resources for Ukraine, and a decrease in the demand for Ukrainian manufacturers' products. All this certainly affects the economic activity in a negative way.
"The country is steadily moving along the way of system modernization of the economic and social spheres, yet there is much work ahead," Yanukovich went on to say. In his opinion, the key attention should be paid to "enhancing the investment attractiveness of the economy, developing the domestic market, and increasing the competitiveness of the key branches of the manufacturing sector, as well as to the agrarian reform and balanced fiscal policy."
"These issues will be part of the National Plan of Actions for 2013, to be endorsed shortly," the president said.
The state budget 2013 is expected to prevent the worsening of social protection of our citizens, while taking into account the predicted difficult economic situation.
"In actual fact, it's a survival budget," the Ukrainian leader said adding that he expected the new Cabinet to come up with concrete proposals by the end of the first quarter on amendments to state budget 2013 in order to make this document more effective.