Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has invited French companies to invest in Ukraine.
"I’m calling on French companies to become our partners in the implementation of projects in which our countries are mutually interested," he said, while speaking before the members of the Movement of the French Enterprises (in French: "Mouvement des Entreprises de France," or MEDEF), the presidential press service reported on Friday.
Yanukovych said that about 300 companies with French capital were operating in Ukraine.
"We should change this situation for the better, and I spoke about this with senior French officials, in particular, with President [Nicolas] Sarkozy, who shares such an approach," he said, adding that "the same concerns possible joint projects in the sphere of telecommunications."
"Ukraine is preparing to stage the finals of the Euro 2012 football tournament, so, conventionally speaking, the whole state has currently turned into a construction site. Modern sporting facilities are under construction, and infrastructure is being rebuilt," Yanukovych said.
The president also noted that the potential of both countries in economic cooperation was not currently being used in full.
"Ukraine will welcome the participation of French investors in this process," Yanukovych said.
MEDEF is the French association of entrepreneurs, which includes the heads of over 750,000 French companies.
