PROMISING, BUT UNATTRACTIVE FOR INVESTORS: FIVE REFORM AREAS OF THE UKRAINIAN DEFENSE INDUSTRY

photo:24tv

Ukraine can provide itself with only about a third of the total amount of weapons needed for national defense, and the Ukrainian market remains unattractive for foreign investment.

This opinion was expressed by Viktor Plakhuta, the expert on the reform and development of the defense industry and defense procurement system of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future during round-table discussion on the topic “Legislative provisions guaranteeing reforming and development of military-industrial complex (MIC) and the reform of defense procurement system”, which took place on 16 September 2019 in the Verkhovna Rada.

The event was organized jointly by the Ukrainian Institute for the Future and the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence.

The expert identified five main areas for reforms in the defense industry, which should help to solve this problem:

• Institutional changes and improvement of public policy; changes in the structure of the MIC.
• Harmonization of mechanisms of interaction between ordering customer and defense enterprises, which requires improving the processes of planning and fulfillment of state defense orders and defense procurement;
• State support for innovative technological development of MIC enterprises.
• Integration into the global weapons and military equipment market, which implies a transition to NATO standards, improvement of the export control system, diversification of markets and state support for exports;
• State support and increase of investment attractiveness, which includes updating/expansion/development of production facilities, improvement of legislation in areas connected with attraction and protection of domestic and foreign investments, improvement of industrial safety policies and procedures.