WASHINGTON, USA – On Wednesday, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met with Ukrainian first deputy prime minister and minister of economy Oleksiy Lyubchenko in Washington, DC to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining areas of renewed cooperation on trade.
The MOU also notes US support for Ukrainian efforts to improve its business and investment climate, which could help to increase US-Ukraine commercial ties. The specific measures include intensifying Ukraine’s fight against corruption, increasing the effectiveness and independence of the court system, strengthening intellectual property rights protections, and implementing corporate governance reforms.
As envisioned in the MOU, both nations will collaborate on Ukraine’s economic transformation in promising sectors for trade, including infrastructure, agriculture, defense, health care and the digital economy, industries affecting Ukraine’s energy transition and decarbonization efforts.
“With the right policy conditions in place, there is significantly greater potential and opportunity for increased commercial engagement between the US and Ukraine,” Secretary Raimondo said. “Signing this Memorandum of Understanding helps to set the directions for growing our relationship.”
First deputy prime minister Lyubchenko is visiting Washington, DC this week as part of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s delegation. On September 1, US president Joseph R. Biden met with president Zelenskyy at the White House.