By E. Morgan Williams
ArtUkraine.com Information Service
Washington, D.C.
January 24, 2003

Washington, D.C..January 24, 2003........First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Ukraine Mykola Azarov will lead a high level Ukrainian economic and finance delegation in Washington, D.C. next week for a series of very important meetings with the U.S. government, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other Washington based governmental and international institutions.

The Ukrainian delegation is reported by several organizations in Washington to include, in addition to VPM Azarov, Valery Khoroshkovsky, Minister of Economics and European Integration Issues; Serhiy Yermilov, Minister of Energy; Yuri Luzan, First Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Agricultural Policy; Serhiy Tyhypko, newly appointed Governor of the Central Bank; Anatoly Maksiuta, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance; Andriy Goncharuk, State Secretary for Trade, Ministry of Finance; Mrs. Oleksandra Kuzhel, Chair, State Committee of Ukraine; and Andriy Gurzhiy, First Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Science.

In addition to the many official meetings VPM Azarov will be the featured speaker at a private breakfast meeting on Wednesday, January 29, hosted by Anders Aslund, Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP). The Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, is hosting a private reception in honor of the Ukraine government team, at the historic Embassy of Ukraine building in Georgetown on Wednesday evening.

On Thursday morning Kempton Jenkins, President of the Ukraine-U.S. Business Council, is hosting the entire delegation at a private working breakfast with the members of the Business Council.

Topics to be discussed at the Council's breakfast include money laundering legislation, intellectual property rights, investment procedures and regulation, tax policy including VAT tax developments, the recently passed Civil and Economic Codes, agricultural developments and energy policy.

Gary Litman, Vice President for Europe and Eurasia, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host a private Roundtable Discussion with VPM Azarov and the other top Ukrainian officials at the U.S. Chambers headquarters in Washington on Thursday, January 30, starting at 4:00 p.m.

According to the announcement from the U.S. Chamber the officials will be available to answer specific questions on a wide range of issues, including Ukraine's WTO accession efforts, the development of a commercially-based agricultural market and credit system, the transit of energy resources across Ukrainian territory, tax policy initiatives related to VAT and customs duties, and the outcome of the latest CIS summit on energy, transportation, and agriculture.

VPM Azarov has long been one of Ukraine's leading politicians and parliamentarians. He has served as Chairman of the State Tax Administration. In November of 2002 he became the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.