The World Bank is ready to provide assistance to Ukraine, because the reforms that are being conducted in the country are necessary and promising. This question was discussed at a meeting between Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, Vice-President of the World Bank Philippe Le Houerou and World Bank representative in Ukraine Martin Raiser, the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers reported on Saturday.

"The reforms are being conducted in all sectors, and we have taken a good pace," Azarov said. "The Verkhovna Rada has currently considered the issue of pension reform, and reforms are also being conducted in the health sector, housing and utilities, and the administrative system," he said.

Le Houerou, in turn, noted that Ukraine was taking efforts to improve cooperation between government and business. He said that the World Bank was ready to provide funds to Ukraine to support the reforms, particularly in the industries that are being actively reformed. He said that it was currently important to invest in energy conservation and the development of high technology.

Azarov said that much had recently been done in Ukraine to ease the tax burden, create favorable conditions for business and deregulate economic activities. In particular, a number of legislative acts regulating the issue of taxation have been adopted, he said.

"VAT refunds are the trouble of the last fifteen years. And only this year the first 70% of this tax was refunded automatically," Azarov said. He noted that "this problem in relations between government and business" would be resolved by the end of this year and that value added tax should be reimbursed only automatically.

UKRINFORM