The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine has presented the 2019 Thanksgiving Choice of the Business Community Award to two recipients: the National Bank of Ukraine and Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner.
The black-tie ceremony toоk place on Nov. 16 at the Hilton Kyiv hotel.
The community acknowledged Bonner “for delivering Ukraine’s news in English to global audiences through his dedicated service as chief editor of the Kyiv Post.”
The chief editor of the 24-year-old print and online publication says that the prize is a celebration of the entire team of the Kyiv Post and also of all of their readers, advertisers and sponsors.
“Without their support of us for the last 25 years, there would be no Kyiv Post and no independent journalism,” Bonner told the Kyiv Post. “All of us at the newspaper are very honored to be recognized by such a great organization as AmCham.”
The American Chamber of Commerce has presented the award yearly since 2014 “to recognize organizations, projects and individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of a favorable business and social environment in Ukraine or promoted Ukraine internationally.”
Apart from Bonner, the business community acknowledged the National Bank of Ukraine.
“The award was given for pursuing a credible monetary policy, continuing the cleaning-up of the banking sector, defending NBU independence and contributing to macroeconomic stability,” the chamber writes on their website.
Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William B. Taylor presents the 2019 Choice of the Business Community Award on behalf of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine to National Bank of Ukraine governor Yakiv Smolii on Nov. 16 during the ceremony in Hilton Hotel Kyiv. (American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine/ Facebook)
The central bank said in a statement published on Nov. 16 that they have been working hard for five years to, among other things, create a favorable business environment so that the companies are not afraid to invest in the future.
“It’s nice when the efforts of the central bank find support not only abroad but also domestically,” their statement reads. “It is twice as pleasant when the regulator is backed by business whose success depends on the predictability of inflation, the health of the financial sector, the liberality of currency regulation and the overall clarity of the National Bank’s policies.”
President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, Andy Hunder, congratulated both winners for their “well-deserved awards” pointing out the importance of both of the fields in attracting investment.
“A strong and independent central bank, as well as free and independent media, play a key role in Ukraine’s macroeconomic stability as they are a powerful signal of trust for foreign investors,” Hunter said in a statement published on the chamber’s website.
Over the five years since the prize’s foundation, the business community awarded a number of outstanding figures including former Minister of Finance Natalie Jaresko, former Minister of Trade and Economy Aivaras Abromavicius, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Ukraine’s Paralympic Team, former Acting Minister of Health Ulana Suprun, President of the US-Ukraine Business Council Morgan Williams, investment promotion agencies Ukraine’s National Investment Council and Ukraine Invest and Minister of Finance Oksana Markarova.
