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The introduction of economic sanctions due to Russia's aggression is quite a reasonable step and Ukraine, as well as the entire global community, has to take it. At the same time, the country has to take necessary measures in order to make this step tangible for Russia, and not Ukrainian producers, including aircraft makers, President of the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE) Anatoliy Kinakh said in an interview with a Ukrainian television channel.
He noted that the country's aircraft building industry is facing hard times because of the loss of its eastern markets and the absence of clear government policy regarding its development and Ukrainian aircraft export diversification.
"The country's government together with the business community have to take care of the introduction and implementation of state programs for the development of aircraft building, diversification of sales markets for domestic planes, saving the industry's scientific, engineering and human resource potential, as long as Ukraine is one of those 10-12 countries of the world that use continuous cycle for the production of modern aircrafts, which is a unique competitive advantage," the ULIE president said.
The priority task is to provide industrialists with access to credit resources, implement an import substitution program, and activate political and diplomatic efforts in order to find new markets and new opportunities for the domestic aircraft industry, Kinakh said.
"How can a technology-intensive enterprise with prolonged cycle work in the conditions when the central bank offers a loan interest rate of 22% and the enterprise's efficiency is 2-3%? Another question is why is Ukraine, which has good medium-haul aircraft, using imported planes and throwing national producers to the mercy of fate? No country in the world does so," he said.
He added that today the country's aircraft building industry needs the government's protection based on efforts to increase export volumes, use domestic production facilities to the maximum, and create new jobs. These measures are mentioned in the Anti-Crisis Program of Joint Actions of the Government and Businesses which was elaborated by business associations and submitted to the country's leadership.
Kinakh also said that Russia's economy suffered from the aviation sanctions more than Ukraine's, while Ukrainian enterprises, which have a higher intellectual potential, such as Antonov state-run enterprise, reoriented their exports to Asia and South America long time ago and they do not depend on the markets of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
He mentioned that the Ukrainian aircraft building industry has achieved good results in cooperation with such worldwide known companies as Boeing and Airbus. Partners from Cuba, North Africa, Middle East, Iran, and India take interest in Ukrainian planes, especially An-series aircraft. It should be mentioned that Iran has built a plant on the basis of An-140 aircraft and India is planning to buy planes as well as participate in the modernization of aircraft, etc.
"We should continue negotiations with them. We should also take into account the fact that modern aircraft are not built in one country. For example, Airbus planes are assembled in 10 countries. Thus, we have to find our place in this global cooperation system and become a part of it," the ULIE president said.
While commenting on possible negative influence of the sanctions on air transportation, Kinakh said that the government should implement state programs to minimize their possible consequences in Ukraine. They should include the introduction of 'open skies' for domestic aviation, transparent and attractive tariff policy for global and European companies, so that the latter have more incentives for cooperation with Ukraine, forming of alternative routes, including transit ones, etc.