Plans are underway to introduce more high-quality Ukrainian food exports to the Qatari market, an official of the Qatar-Ukraine Business Forum (QUBF) has said.

QUBF chairperson Dr Olga Revina said QUBF, as a joint business council, is currently focused on supporting the development of a collaboration between Ukrainian company Lutsk Food and Khalil Ali Akbar Lari Group (Lari Group), a leading corporate family group in Qatar specialising in the wholesale sector industry.

“It is important to stress that Lari Group has already worked with Ukrainian products, and we will do our best to bring more healthy and tasty products from Ukraine for consumers in Qatar,” Revina told Gulf Times on Tuesday.

Revina noted that QUBF’s “proactive position and established partnerships” with key organisations in both Qatar and Ukraine have produced a wide range of “successfully-realised projects.”

Similarly, QUBF’s “active collaboration” with the Embassy of Ukraine in Qatar opened the opportunity to form a portfolio of Ukrainian proposals to help facilitate projects between Qatari and Ukrainian business communities in many commercial activities, Revina pointed out.

“The majority of proposals are in food supply sector offering such products like organic commodities (soybean, corn, hemp, chickpeas, high oleic sunflower, and wheat), different fresh and frozen berries and fruits, organic honey and other honey-related goods, cereals, muesli, flakes, frozen chicken franks and beef cuts, and a wide range of consumer products and products for food services, among others,” Revina explained.

Revina reiterated that major players in Ukraine’s agro-industrial sector utilised current global challenges to create more export opportunities to other countries, including Qatar, where Ukrainian products have taken a wide presence in the local market.

To further enhance trade relations between Qatar and Ukraine, Revina said QUBF held discussions with UkraineInvest to create a framework of the crucial segments for Qatar-Ukraine investment potential.

UkraineInvest is the Ukrainian government’s investment promotion office created in 2016 to attract foreign direct investment and assist existing investors to expand their businesses in Ukraine.

Revina said on November 9 UkraineInvest published updates on recent Qatar-Ukraine achievements. Verkhovna Rada, the unicameral parliament of Ukraine, passed the law "On Ratification of the Protocol between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the State of Qatar on Amendments and Additions to the Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the State of Qatar on Air Traffic".

“This step will open up access to the markets by allocation of the several airlines on each side, eliminate the restrictions on number of flights, types of the aircraft, and expand the number of destinations for regular air connection between two countries,” UkraineInvest stated in its website.

“According to Vladyslav Kryklii, Minister of Infrastructure, Ukraine is interested in co-operation in the realm of transport and infrastructure with Qatar. Earlier this year, a leading Qatari operator QTerminals signed a concession agreement for Olvia port, which envisages UAH17bn of investments. Thus, the liberalisation of air transportation is a huge step towards evolving the relations between Ukraine and Qatar,” UkraineInvest further said.

Revina added: “We are happy to make our contribution to developing Qatar-Ukraine ties. Recently, QUBF took part in an e-conference organised by the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry by advising Ukrainian participants on major guidelines for doing business in Qatar.”



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