The legal framework for bilateral economic relations between Norway and Ukraine is an agreement on trade and economic cooperation signed in 1998. It should also be noted that Ukraine is EFTA’s third most important export destination in Europe outside the EU. In view of this, and in order to further enhance the economic ties and trade with Ukraine, in 2010 the EFTA countries, among them Norway, signed a free trade agreement with Ukraine.
Ukraine exports mainly ammoniac, agricultural products, ship hulls and steel to Norway, while the majority of Norwegian export to Ukraine consists of fish and seafood. Special focus areas are tourism, seafood, mining, hydro power, bioenergy, shipping and maritime, and the petroleum sector.
Telecommunications and information technology are already very promising and developing areas of Norwegian-Ukrainian cooperation. The Norwegian business community in Ukraine is represented by companies operating in the fields of telecommunications, IT, business consultancy and outsourcing, farming, production of food packaging, shipping services etc.
The Embassy offers assistance to Norwegian business and industry (within the scope of a work plan in this field. Furthermore, to provide better support to the Norwegian companies who are interested in doing business in/with Ukraine, in 2008 the Embassy among others initiated creation of a Norwegian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce (www.nucc.no). NUCC is based in Oslo and conducts regular business meetings and networking events.
For more information on business and trade opportunities please contact Commercial officer Elena Kovalenko , +380 44 281 22 58.
Norwegian companies in Ukraine
Seafood
Maritime industry
Tourism
Other industries
Norwegian Embassy in Kiev
Promoting trade and economic cooperation
Norway – Ukraine
The Norwegian Embassy in Kiev is engaged in a range of activities aimed at promoting and increasing Norwegian-Ukrainian trade and investment.
General export services
The Embassy provides free of charge “general export services” to Norwegian companies and also extends some similar assistance to Ukrainian entities seeking information or partners in Norway. Services to Norwegian companies include readily available information and assistance which is not very time consuming (2-3 hours). Examples: elaboration of long and short lists of Ukrainian companies by economic sectors; advising on standard procedure of registering an entity in Ukraine; search for information on legal aspects of export/import operations of particular commodity groups etc.
The Embassy pays special attention to market issues and business development in the following key sectors in Ukraine:
- Fish/seafood
- Telecommunications
- Information technology
- Shipbuilding and the maritime sector
- Tourism
- Renewable energy (hydro power, bio-energy, wind power)
- Energy efficiency and environmental technology
- Carbon management
- Petroleum exploration and production
- Mining
The Embassy carries out some media monitoring and may issue market updates or “fact sheets” with regard to priority sectors. The Embassy collects and maintains information on relevant market actors, distributes brochures and other information, may organise presentations and individual meetings for Norwegian companies, advises Innovation Norway and companies on upcoming sector exhibitions and conferences and may facilitate their participation at such events.
Observation issues
The Embassy monitors the general economic and financial situation in Ukraine, reports on the development and stays informed also on trends and events with regard to real estate, financing, transport, infrastructure, agriculture and other areas of the Ukrainian economy. Of particular interest are:
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Ukrainian scientific and industrial research and development activities, issues relating to the establishment of innovation parks, techno-parks, incubators
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Operations of the Norwegian investment fund for Eastern Europe (managed by Innovation Norway)
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Seed Forum's activities in Ukraine
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Activities of international financing institutions, such as the IMF, IBRD, EBRD, NIB and NEFCO
Supporting activities
The Embassy is involved in a range of activities in Ukraine which indirectly is of relevance to strategic business development, such as promotion of good governance, education and research, cultural cooperation, health and the environment. Our aim is to seek business synergies, inter alia through:
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Contact with relevant Ukrainian entities, government ministries and agencies, chambers of commerce and industry, Academy of sciences institutions, etc.
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Projects financed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cleaner production and energy efficiency, higher education, the environment/ climate change, retraining of personnel, health, CSR, conversion
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Projects financed by Norway within the framework of the EEA and Norwegian financing mechanisms (Norwegian-supported projects in the EU with cross-border activities in Ukraine)
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EFTA technical assistance projects in Ukraine
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UNDP (and other UN-agencies)-led/funded programmes
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Cooperation with the European Business Association and the American Chamber of Commerce in Kiev
Anti-corruption and CSR
Norway attaches great importance to the role of business in the overall development of a country, and emphasizes environmental protection, observation of human rights and labour standards, and measures to combat corruption as part of any company's Corporate Social Responsibility.
The Embassy works to ensure that Norwegian economic operators in Ukraine adhere to law, ethical standards and international norms.
Business Anti-Corruption's assessment of Ukraine
Economic/commercial focus sectors
We also provide information and advice concerning the general regulatory framework in Ukraine, foreign relations and domestic political situation and trends, trade policy issues, other background information etc. of relevance to interested Norwegian entities.