The Baltic Business Forum 2009 kicks off today in Swinoujscie, northwestern Poland, to discuss the Eastern Partnership and, specifically, investment possibilities in the Ukraine, Polskie Radio reported.

This year’s conference, entitled Ukraine – New Opportunities! is meant to entice businesses from Poland, Germany and Scandinavia to invest in the country, according to the Forum’s organizer and head of the Polish-Ukraine Economic Council, Jacek Piechota.

Piechota, former Minister of Economy, highlights the fact that the economic crisis has seriously hit the Ukraine, but that it has created unprecedented opportunities for Poles to invest in the country.

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“Falling real estate prices and the low values of factories currently create perfect opportunities to take part in the country’s privatization process,” states Piechota, adding that the recession has made the country really welcome foreign capital.

According to Oleksander Mocyk, Ukraine’s ambassador in Poland, after Russia and Germany, Poland is the country’s most important economic partner – last year, the trade balance between the two valued 6 billion USD.

“Polish firms should be even more active in the Ukraine because it is really a good chance to invest in even more former USSR countries,” adds Piechota.

The Baltic Business Forum is additionally an opportunity to discuss the collective vision of the Polish-Swedish project for the European Union – the Eastern Partnership. One of the main goals of the project is to assist the Ukraine to take on modern innovations in economics that would eventually put it on par with EU standards for membership.

Polskie Radio