Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeria Gontareva is to participate in the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Riga (Latvia) on May 21-22, 2015.
As is known, in the course of the summit, a Ukrainian delegation led by Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko is set to discuss the prospects of Ukraine's European integration and the establishment of a visa-free travel regime between Ukraine and the European Union in early 2016. The Ukrainian delegation comprises the chief executives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, etc.
During the Summit, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeria Gontareva is to take part in the business forum that will be focused on addressing the challenges facing the Free Trade Area. A series of meetings has been scheduled with the representatives of the European business community, high officials of the European Commission, in particular with Vice-President of the European Commission, EU Commissioner for the Euro and Social Dialogue Valdis Dombrovskis. During these meetings, the current state of the domestic economy and the potential economic growth in the near future will be discussed.
In the framework of the Summit, Ukraine and the European Commission are expected to conclude the Memorandum of Understanding and Loan Agreement related to the next package of EU Macro-Financial Assistance to Ukraine. On behalf of Ukraine, the documents will be signed by Minister of Finance of Ukraine Natalia Yaresko and Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeria Gonatreva.
For reference
The main objective of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), implemented by the EU since 2004, is to pave the way for strengthening relations between the enlarged EU and its neighboring countries and ensure the creation of a secure, stable and prosperous environment in this region.
The Eastern Partnership initiative was launched in May 2009. It represents the Eastern dimension of the ENP, covering 6 countries: Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Moldova.
In the framework of the Eastern Partnership initiative, regular meetings at the level of Heads of State or Government of the Eastern Partnership countries are held every two years. The Eastern Partnership also organizes annual meetings of ministers of foreign affairs from the EU and from the Eastern partners to review the progress made by Member states and set political benchmarks; thematic platforms are established according to the main areas of cooperation (Democracy, good governance and stability; Economic integration and convergence with EU policies; Energy security; and Contacts between people), supported by various panels in the aforementioned areas.