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Vitalij Antonov
Generalinis konsulas Ukrainoje
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I have been appointed as Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuania to Lvov in 1999. Everything that happens in the social-political and economic life of Lithuania has always been of interest and importance to me. Since 2004, when Lithuania became a full-fledged member of the European community, I have observed the changes that Lithuania has gone through. Indeed I am very interested in the development of Lithuanian businesses. I want to emphasise that the political, social and economic transformation that Lithuania has experienced during these 16 years would be of great value to Ukraine in many areas. However, in order to develop this and other issues we have to establish better communication channels between our countries’ leaders.
It should be noted that not only I as Honorary Consul of Lithuania, but also many Ukrainian business people who have business contacts in Lithuania, have noticed many advantages for doing business in Lithuania: the stable exchange rate of the Lithuanian Litas (which has not changed since 1994), reliable and modern banking and finance systems, favourable legislation and relatively low taxes. Ukrainian business people know Lithuanian manufacturers who work in the furniture, textiles and sewing industry. Lithuania’s retail trade networks are also well known in Ukraine.
The Ukraine’s business people visit and participate in many international trade exhibitions such as AgroBalt, Baltijos tekstilë and oda (Baltic textile and leather), and Transbaltika, which are annually held in Vilnius.
Not long ago, Lithuanian business people who sought to develop their business in Ukraine had to look to Kiev and the eastern part of the country. However, they have recently found that the western regions of Ukraine hold equal interest.
After the western regions of Ukraine became the next door neighbours of the European Union, Lithuanian citizens were provided with the opportunity to travel to Ukraine without visas. Consequently, Lithuanian business representatives had to reassess the great potential of this region.
It should be noted here that the Lvov region, as the strongest region of Western Ukraine, is actively sought by European investors and tourists and therefore it is currently undergoing reconstruction of customs and border posts, roads, as well as other infrastructure.
Since our region is on the crossroads of several international transport corridors, it has a well developed infrastructure, many scientific research institutions, a large number of highly qualified specialists in various economic fields, and good experience in communication with Polish, Austrian and German investors. These are only some of the reasons why European investors are highly interested in doing business in this region. I am convinced that representatives from Lithuania’s business community will find our region to be of great interest and am certain that their number will continue to grow.
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