INTEGRITES became co-organizer of the Ukrainian-Turkish Infrastructure Forum “Creating Opportunities Together”

INTEGRITES became co-organizer of the first Ukrainian-Turkish Infrastructure Forum “Creating Opportunities Together” which gathered representatives of Ukrainian and Turkish business, government and diplomatic bodies in Kyiv on November 13, 2019.

The goal of the event was to discuss the economic opportunities and legal challenges in infrastructure and construction with a special focus on dispute resolution.

Following welcoming remarks by His Excellency Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Ukraine Yağmur Ahmet Güldere and Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Agriculture Yuliya Svyrydenko, speakers discussed essential topics related to infrastructure in Ukraine, among them numerous opportunities for public-private partnership projects in airports, road construction, railways. Additionally, panelists highlighted legal ways of protecting investors’ interests in PPP and other investment projects.

The Forum became a joint effort of INTEGRITES together with the Ukrainian Arbitration Association, International Turkish Ukrainian Businessmen Association (TUID), and Gün + Partners law firm (Turkey).

Oleksiy Feliv, Managing partner at INTEGRITES: “We as law firm have a Turkish client desk and long-standing relationships with many representatives of the Turkish business community. We believe that to ensure investment growth into the transport infrastructure in Ukraine, it’s essential to showcase opportunities to potential investors through an open and direct dialogue. It’s also important to present and explain the newly adopted legislation which enables foreign business to invest more in Ukraine. This Forum proves to be a success because it provided an excellent platform for both”.

Olena Perepelynska, President of the Ukrainian Arbitration Association, partner at INTEGRITES: “Current and potential Turkish investors are interested in doing safe business in Ukraine. They want to have efficient mechanisms to protect their interests, especially when it comes to significant long-term investments in infrastructure. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and most of all, arbitration is traditionally the most preferred mechanism in this context, and the recently adopted Law on Concessions expressly allows investors to choose various ADR mechanisms for resolution of their potential disputes. We hope that arbitration-friendly legal environment will gradually attract more foreign businesses into the most investment attractive sectors of the Ukrainian economy”.

Mehmet Gün, founder of Gun + Partners law firm (Turkey), Chairman of the Istanbul Arbitration Association: “Turkey and Ukraine can offer enormous economic potential for foreign investors: located within only 2-hour flight from one another, both countries can succeed in implementing their joint ventures, particularly in infrastructure. 1/3 of Turkish commercially minded lawyers operate in Istanbul. Thousands of them are bilingual and familiar with the international trade law. They offer services at very competitive rates. Moreover, Istanbul has become an international dispute resolution hub. It hosts several international arbitration centers, with the most popular – Istanbul Arbitration Center (ISTAC) that has been internationally recognized. I truly believe that this forum will become a good tradition for business, law firms and state authorities from our countries to gather and discuss ways of cooperation”.  

Burak Pehlivan, Chairman of TUID: “We are currently living in a Golden Age of Turkey-Ukraine relations. Among the World’s biggest international construction contractors there are 42 Turkish companies. Ukraine will invest $ 25 billion in its infrastructure in the next 5 years and no doubts the biggest contributors in the Ukrainian infrastructure in this period would be Turkish construction contractors with their experience, quality, know-now and speed.”