Dnipropetrovsk region – Estonia: B2B event to extend cooperation

On April 22, 2021, the director of the Dnipropetrovsk Investment Agency (DIA), Valentyna Zatyshniak, took part in an online meeting organized by the Dnipropetrovsk CCI jointly with the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event was also attended by Nataliia Osadcha, Doctor of Economics at the Institute of Industrial Economics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

The meeting was held with the support of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Estonia Mariana Betsi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Estonia to Ukraine Kaimo Kuuska, representatives of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Margus Ilmyarv and the Ukrainian-Estonian Chamber of Commerce Vitaly Galitsky. Representatives of the embassies spoke about the countries’ interest in developing cooperation in various areas and their readiness to move to a new level of high-quality joint work.

President of the Dnipropetrovsk CCI Vitaly Zhmurenko in his welcoming speech noted that the Dnipropetrovsk region has been cooperating with Estonia for more than a dozen years: “The business cooperation of our countries continues successfully today. Despite the pandemic, in 2020 the export of goods and services from the Dnipropetrovsk region to Estonia amounted to $10 mln, and imports – $77 mln.”

The purpose of the event was to present the investment potential of the region to representatives of the Estonian business and to establish new business contacts between the business of Dnipropetrovsk and Estonia.

Presenting the economic potential of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Valentyna Zatyshniak drew the participants’ attention to the leading positions of the region in terms of the volume of industrial products sold, foreign direct and capital investments and the labor market. The logistics advantages of the region and the current benefits and preferences for investors were also presented. The features of trade and economic cooperation between the Dnipropetrovsk region and Estonia were also described in detail.

“The total volume of foreign trade in goods and services in 2020 amounted to $88.3 mln. At the same time, the volume of imports exceeds the volume of exports. Imports of goods and services over the past year amounted to $10.9 mln, and exports, therefore, amounted to $77.4 mln. The largest part of exports to Estonia are transport and IT services, as well as products from ferrous and other base metals and railway locomotives. Entrepreneurs of the Dnipropetrovsk region are interested and buy machines and mechanisms in Estonia. This is the largest part of the total import of the region – 66.7%. Companies in the region import cotton wool, IT and transport services, as well as fish and crustaceans”, – said Valentyna Zatyshniak.

For further effective work with foreign partners, traditional and interactive tools were presented, which are the main assets of the Dnipropetrovsk Investment Agency and provide comprehensive information about the region at the stage of familiarization with it. These tools are:

Member of the Board of the Ukrainian-Estonian Chamber of Commerce Vitaliy Galitsky in his speech, representing business of Estonia, emphasized the advantages of the Estonian tax system, which contribute to the comfortable operation of business. Also, the Estonian side presented virtual residency – a program launched by the Estonian government in 2014, which allows non-Estonian citizens to get access to Estonian services – business registration or banking services, as well as to the single European market.

During the final part of the event, participants from Ukrainian and Estonian businesses made presentations of their companies. Representatives of enterprises operating in the industries of production and export of goods, international transportation, design, engineering and metalworking spoke about their services and products, further development plans, and also shared their contacts for potential partners.

As a result of the event, agreements were reached on further dialogue, and presentations and contacts of the companies were shared among the participants of the meeting.

If you would like to get the information about other events planned to be held in the near future or to take part in them, visit DIA website, subscribe to our Facebook page and Telegram channel.