A crisis of expectations and trust in the society will be the main challenge for the Ukrainian authorities in 2013, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said.
“We should realize that a crisis of expectations and trust in our
society will be the main challenge for the authorities in 2013,” the
head of state said at a meeting of the Council of Regions in Kyiv on
Tuesday.
In 2013 Ukraine is to chair the OSCE, sign the Association Agreement
with the European Union, and develop new relations with the Customs
Union, the president recalled.
Ukraine also hopes to intensify its cooperation with international
financial institutions, particularly the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the World Bank, as well as expects to see positive progress in
the negotiations with the World Trade Organization on its proposals in
the sphere of international trade taking into account its national
interests.
“Certainly the citizens have not felt drastic positive changes yet.
The situation in medicine, education and with unemployment is difficult,
the level of corruption is high, there are difficulties with
organization and doing business, especially for small businesses, and
this influences the mood and demands of people,” he said.
Yanukovych recalled that Ukraine is planning to repay $9 billion of
its foreign debt in 2013, which is the highest sum over the recent
years.
“I am stressing this not accidentally. This year will be a year of new challenges,” the president said.
