MR KIRBY: Good afternoon, everybody. A couple things at the top here:
Today, Deputy Secretary Blinken met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yatsenyuk. During their meeting, they discussed Ukraine’s reform efforts, U.S. support for Ukraine, prospects for U.S. investment, and of course, the implementation of the Minsk agreements. The Deputy Secretary encouraged continued progress on reforms and reaffirmed our strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In that same vein, we want to welcome today’s U.S.-Ukraine Business Forum co-hosted by the Department of Commerce and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This Washington event is an opportunity for high-level government and business leaders from both countries to emphasize our important bilateral commercial relationship, and discuss ways to improve trade and investment opportunities between the U.S. and Ukraine. U.S. private sector leaders will have the opportunity throughout the day to discuss efforts to improve the business climate, and Ukraine and Ukrainian Government leaders will also share their progress on the implementation of their robust economic reform agenda and detail their vision for Ukraine’s economic future.
