The return of direct flights between Kyiv and Oslo brings new opportunities for cooperation between Ukraine and Norway. Norwegian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce (NUCC) in cooperation with Federation of Employers of Ukraine, SMB Norway and the Norwegian Embassy in Ukraine organized a Networking Forum with a symbolic name “Into the Sky – Connecting Norway and Ukraine” in Kyiv last week.

Passenger traffic between Ukraine and Norway is showing almost 30% growth for the last two years. This is also due to the growth in economic activity between the countries. Norwegian investments announced earlier this year within the renewable energy sector totaling almost 1,5 billion USD also send positive signals to other sectors of the economy such as tourism and manufacturing. In August, NUCC brought a delegation of 9 travel companies to explore what Kyiv, Odesa and Lviv have to offer to travelers from Norway. This time NUCC brought 10 companies working in the fashion industry to get them in contact with Ukrainian producers of clothes, textile, and shoes.

Participants of the networking forum had a chance to discuss possibilities for cooperation between Ukrainian and Norwegian companies, changes in legislation, as well as find out about the needs and possibilities within the fashion industry in both markets. At the same time when more than 100 participants discussing possibilities for cooperation in manufacturing between Ukraine and Norway, another 100 participants came to listen to Norwegian company Wikborg Rein presenting results of the Stockholm arbitration. Wikborg Rein represents Ukrainian Naftogaz against Gazprom in that case. There is strong agreement among all the panellists that Ukraine is moving in the right direction towards gas market reform which is becoming more in compliance with the EU regulations while guaranteeing the country’s energy security and economic prosperity.

Moreover, last week 100 tourists from Norway were taking the boat “Princes of Dnipro” from Kyiv to Odesa. All this different activities are clear evidence that connections between Ukraine and Norway are getting stronger every year while direct flights will open even more doors for new companies and entrepreneurs, which will certainly strengthen business relations between our two countries.