Ukraine can become a European investment hub by relying on Poland’s experience.

“For an effective result, it is essential to create attractive conditions for foreign investors, as Poland does,” said Michal Mierzejewski, vice president of Philip Morris International in Northeast Europe.

“For example, in Poland, the government provides huge financial support to the investor, investing a lot of money in infrastructure, tax benefits, etc. All these government grants given to companies are repaid in two to four years,” the vice president noted.

According to him, in addition to improving infrastructure, it is worth quickening the introduction of changes to Ukrainian legislation to correspond to European practices. He recalled that in June of this year, the company announced an investment of more than $30M in a new production facility in the Lviv region.

“We had several options, including Poland, Turkey, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania. But we are not only thinking about economic indicators. Philip Morris wants to show international investors that Ukraine is a place where you can and should invest, despite all the risks,” the company’s vice president said.