02 March 2020, Monday, 17:38 297

Fighting Corruption And Judicial Reform Guarantee Of IKEA’s Entry Into Ukraine – Swedish Foreign Minister Linde

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde believes that fighting corruption and implementation of judicial reform in Ukraine will guarantee entry of the Swedish IKEA furniture and home furnishings chain into the Ukrainian market.

Linde announced this at a joint press conference with Foreign Affairs Minister Vadym Prystaiko in Kyiv, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"Minister Prystaiko asked me about IKEA. Of course, IKEA is a private company, so they make their own decisions. However, as the former minister of commerce, I can say that a more predictable judicial system, more transparent legislation, and more decisive anti-corruption efforts are the Swedish company’s first requirements," she said.

Prystaiko said that Ukraine and Sweden have good economic relations, including a bilateral trade turnover of almost half a billion euros per year.

Linde also said that Sweden is the second largest provider of humanitarian aid provided to Ukraine after Germany.

She also assured Prystaiko that Ukraine would be a focus of attention during Sweden’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2021.

The Swedish foreign minister also emphasized that sanctions against Russia should be maintained until the reasons for their imposition are eliminated.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in December, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Swedish businesses to increase their presence in Ukraine and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Loefven said that fighting corruption and deterring the influence of oligarchs in Ukraine was important for this.

IKEA postponed the opening of its first store in Ukraine for the third time in early December 2019. However, it intends to open an online store in Ukraine in the spring of 2020.