REUTERS
Kahkonen expressed the hope that the newly elected president and the new Cabinet would lift the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land in Ukraine.
World Bank Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova Satu Kahkonen says the opening of the agricultural land market in Ukraine and the adoption of the relevant legislation will release the country's significant potential for economic growth, which will rise by up to 1.5% annually.
Read alsoPoroshenko: Extension of farmland sale moratorium directly linked with corruption
"Opening of agricultural land markets, allowing people to buy and sell land and making use of the assets that they own would be the most transformative and comprehensive reform that Ukraine can undertake at this point of time. The calculations that we have done suggest that Ukraine could rise once the market operates properly by at least 1% or 1.5% per year in terms of its economic growth. So, it is a significant impact that it would have. Many people say that these are very underestimated estimates, that we're very conservative in our estimates. Yes, we are. Because we know there will be a lot of multiplier effects when investment starts flowing," she said at a press conference in Kyiv on May 23.
She also expressed the hope that newly elected President Volodymyr Zelensky and the new government would undertake to lift the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land in Ukraine.
In turn, Lead Economist and Program Leader covering Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine Faruk Khan said that Ukraine, to accelerate economic growth, also needed to achieve fiscal stability, solve the problems of non-performing loans at state-run banks, introduce anti-corruption measures, and reinstate criminal liability for illegal enrichment.
If there is progress in such areas, Ukraine's GDP will grow by 3.4% in 2020 and by 3.8% in 2021. But if the reforms fail to continue, the economy will be below 2%, he said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, last December, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, extended the moratorium on farmland purchase and sale in Ukraine, which was introduced in from 2001, until 2020.
The World Bank says Ukraine's economy will receive between US$0.7 billion and $1.5 billion annually in case the moratorium on farmland sale is lifted.