“France is a world scale investor, and one can especially feel this within the context of the European Union. We are ready to do still more to invest in the Ukrainian economy. But a great deal depends on Ukraine itself,” director of the National Bank of France Jean-Claude Trichet underlined at a Ukrainian- French Forum that took place in Kyiv. It was the first forum of the kind between Ukraine and France, set up according to an agreement of the presidents of both countries, Jacques Chirac and Leonid Kuchma. The forum’s competence covered consideration of the widest circle of issues, from economic to cultural cooperation.
Answering the questions of journalists what concrete results one can expect from the forum, Mr. Trichet pointed out that at a meeting of Ukrainian and French circles two programs would be elaborated for next year and for 2002. These two programs will be the foundation for the achievement of specific results.
The main lines of cooperation Mr. Trichet mentioned were agriculture, university exchange, and many other things. The French participants did not conceal their interest in developing cooperation in the field of televised communications. Stanislav Dovhy, chairman of the board of the Ukrtelekom public corporation, announced that the French company France Telecom was interested in taking part in privatization of Ukrtelekom. According to him, a meeting with the French company representatives to consider issues of privatization is to take place in the immediate future.
General Secretary of the Ukrainian-French forum Francois Baratin also pointed out that broadcasting Euronews in Ukrainian via channels of our television was quite possible with the help of France (for that purpose Paris needs the consent of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.) Etienne Bertier, director of Electricite de France (EDF) and member of the forum’s bureau, said that according to the data of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, the EDF has already submitted applications for participation in the tender on purchase of shares in the Kyivoblenerho, Rivneoblenerho, and Zhytomyroblenerho public corporations.
As Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Ukraine Pascal Fieschie stated, “The positions of Ukraine and France concerning many issues agree. Simultaneously, we have lacked dialogue in political relations and cooperation between public structures.” The forum seems to have been meant to liquidate this shortage in dialogue, which is, obviously, to happen unless Ukrainian-French meeting becomes just another bilateral inheriting the wind.
