The Memorandum had been signed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Ukraine, B. Danylyshyn, Minister of Industrial Policy of Ukraine, V. Novytsky, President of All-Ukrainian Association of Employers’ Organizations “Confederation of the Employers of Ukraine”, O. Sokolovsky and first Vice-President of All-Ukrainian Association of Regional Organizations of Employers of Light Industry Enterprises, V. Izovit.

In the course of the meeting, it had been noted that the Memorandum was to reinforce partnership relations between the Government and civic organizations, including their associations, which represent the interests of enterprises, and will grant an opportunity to engage professional civic organizations in the process of ascertainment of common business conditions in industrial and inter-industrial profile. Furthermore, execution of Memorandum will be promotive of expanded and qualitative provision of information and analytical support to relevant ministries and civic organizations, engaged in consumer industry development, and will grant an opportunity to use analytical derivations for the purposes of competitive recovery of light industry and improvement of national economy.

The Minister of Economic Affairs, Bohdan Danylyshyn, has made a note of importance of the light industry that has a huge production capacity, which can satisfy the demand of the population for consumer packaged goods and promote the improvement of living standards. Furthermore, the light industry is tightly bound to a number of auxiliary industries, and provides its services to the whole economic complex of Ukraine.

According to the Minister, the top importance of the light industry for the national economy is determined, as well, by huge potential of domestic market of light industrial goods (something like UAH 40 billion each year); high level of value added (up to 50%), which is created during those goods production process; quick return of capital; use of raw materials and semi-finished products of home manufacture (leather, cotton, line and chemical materials); low energy consumption level of production and negligible impact on the environment.

“The top priority objective of consumer industry development, - the Minister of Economic Affairs of Ukraine, Bohdan Danylyshyn, has stressed, - consists in improvement of its investment attractiveness, intensification of technical re-equipment of production facilities, in order to expand the volume of competitive goods produced, and protection of domestic market against dumping imports”.

According to the Minister of Economic Affairs of Ukraine, the Memorandum is executed for the purposes of:

- formulation and development of efficient strategy of national industrial and economic policy, to be pursued in the light industry, with due consideration of propositions, made by Confederation of the Employers of Ukraine;

- maximal exactitude as for examination of major trends and evaluation of their effect on industrial production indices, as well as in order to predict further development of light industry;

- well-timed provision of information to the light industry enterprises on introduction of new methods of tariff and non-tariff regulation of domestic consumer goods access to the world markets and formulation of efficient strategy of probable adverse effects mitigation;

- examination and formulation of national priorities of consumer industry development;

- macroeconomic stability and sustainable improvement of both consumer industry and Ukraine, as a whole;

- introduction of harmonic national policy of Ukrainian economy integration into European and world’s economic territories;

- formulation of common rules of business to be applied to consumer industry domain.

“This Memorandum, - B. Danylyshyn has stressed, - speaks for intention of the Government to take account of all requests, based, first of all, on protection of Ukraine’s and consumer industry’s economic interests. That’s why I want to assure that the Government will do its best in order to improve export potential of Ukraine and provide transparent rules of cooperation between the Government and the manufacturers”.