American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine president Andy Hunder was among those who met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Jan. 31 at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.
“I thanked Secretary Pompeo and the entire U.S. Department of State for providing support to all AmChams throughout 43 European countries. AmCham Ukraine’s office is, by far, the biggest in Europe,” Hunder said in prepared remarks after the meeting. ” I delivered our Business Climate Survey and provided tangible examples of realities of doing business on the ground, voicing your companies’ success stories. The mood of business is upbeat, with 88% of members seeing increased growth in revenues and 65% increasing investment in Ukraine.”
Hunder said his message to Pompeo “was clear – we need to shift the narrative on U.S.-Ukraine relations to focus on business and investment.”
He said that he and Pompeo “discussed the rule of law, macroeconomic stability, and further cooperation with the International Monetary Fund. We also touched upon the unlock of the U.S. Export-Import Bank’ full financing capacity, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation’s transformation into the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, or DFC. Ukraine is ripe for U.S. investment, and now is the time to expand investment in Ukraine.
Hunder said he thanked Pompeo “for the constant support” that U.S. charge d’affaires Kristina Kvien and the U.S. Embassy team provide to the chamber’s more than 600 members.
