Arab countries can become strategic investors in Ukraine. The groundwork for this kind of cooperation was recently started. Last May Kuwait hosted the first Ukrainian–Arab conference on the investment attractiveness of the national economy for Arab counties. As soon as in October Ukraine received representatives of Arab business. The conference “Investment Prospects for Ukraine” was attended by diplomats from the embassies of Kuwait, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Oman, and Jordan. These are strategically most attractive partners for Ukrainian business. Under the Shariah law, they cannot lend money. In other words, it is a question of real economic activity, not business crediting. Partners share not only profits but also business risks. Besides, Arab investors do not aim at buying the controlling share of business capital.
“If you want to launch a joint business, turn to us. We are open to cooperation. The only requirement is that business be conducted under the laws that are in line with our legal norms,” says Sheikh Haytham Tamim, manager of Shariah Solutions and a well-known expert in the questions of Shariah and Islamic financing. “We are not restricted in the areas of cooperation with Ukraine. The only thing we do not fund are the alcohol and tobacco industries and all the related sectors, nor do we give money for promoting gambling because the Shariah law bans this.”
The main sectors in which Ukrainian business is working today as part of the Ukrainian–Arab investment cooperation include agriculture, the food industry, banking services, transport, tourism, and innovative technologies in civil construction. Yet, according to Mahrous Besiso, vice-president of the Al-Bader International Development group of companies, other Ukrainian industries are also quite interesting for investments and will be carefully studied. Arab investors are already studying the Ukrainian law and the possibilities of bringing it into line with the Islamic financial system.
