Guest blog post by Rik Miller, President of DuPont Crop Protection

As the President of DuPont Crop Protection, I was honored to participate in the U.S.-Ukraine Business Forum on Monday, July 13, 2015. Co-hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the forum consisted of a series of high-level discussions focused on advancing Ukraine’s economic reform agenda and improving trade and investment opportunities between the U.S. and Ukraine.

 

Secretary Pritzker’s steadfast commitment to building a relationship that will deliver tangible results for both Ukrainians and Americans is admirable and appreciated. Throughout the event, Prime Minister Yatsenyuk and his delegation shared their dedication to undertake very ambitious reforms that will elevate Ukraine as a global leader in key sectors, including agriculture. The closing of the session by Vice President Biden reinforced the strong commitment the United States has to our friends in Ukraine. 

 

The DuPont story in Ukraine continues to flourish, and we see room for even more collaboration in the near future. Secretary’s Pritzker’s timing for the forum was extremely opportune as Ukraine is one of the fastest agricultural growth markets in the world with an important role in securing global food security.

 

During the forum, I had the opportunity to share DuPont’s experience with conducting business in Ukraine directly with the Ukrainian Government leaders in attendance and share my recommendations for improving the business climate in Ukraine. While we see fantastic opportunity for growth, there are some challenges that need to be addressed to improve agribusiness in Ukraine, including:

These are all challenging areas but can be overcome with the unwavering commitment demonstrated by the leadership of the Ukrainian Government officials.  DuPont is committed to Ukraine and looks forward to bringing our global experiences to help provide a strong reference to some of the problem solving work that needs to be undertaken in the coming months.