MK Moshe Gafne, chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee last week with Oleg Vyshniakov, Jewish-Ukrainian businessman and honorary consul of Israel in the Ukraine.
In the meeting, which took place in MK Gafne’s office at the Knesset, the two agreed to conduct a series of meeting between MK Gafni and Ukrainian government officials in order to consult them on how to balance the country’s budget and reduce the deficit in light of the ongoing military conflict in the east of the country against the Russian separatists.
Vyshniakov, who is in a close relation with the Ukrainian president and has also escorted him during his last visit to Israel, told Gafne that there are a number of similarities between Israel and the Ukraine. One of the prominent ones is the need to manage a stable economy under constant security unrest and during times of emergency, which consequently heighten the budget’s security expenses. Another similarity is the dependency on export to other countries. In light of the similarities between the two economies, consultations between the Ukraine and Israel is of great importance for the Ukraine, said Vyshniakov to his host.
Another issue the two discussed in their meetings was the issue of Income budget balance. Gafne told Vyshniakov that rather than raising the income tax, the Israeli government decided upon the taxation its natural resources, including the gas and the Dead Sea factories. At the request of Vyshniakov, who organizes monthly delegations of Ukrainian officials to Israel, MK Gafne agreed to hold a joint meeting between the finance committee he is heading and the Ukrainian Parliament’s taxation committee head by MP Nina Yozhnina.
At the end of the meeting, Gafne noted to Vyshniakov that many Jews in Israel, orthodox and secular alike, hold the Ukraine with very warm feelings in light of the many righteous people who lived in the country and are buried in it. “Israel and the Ukraine are similar, we are ready to assist the Ukraine with it difficulties”, concluded Gafne.
Following the revolution in that Ukraine, which began two years ago and the military conflict with Russia that followed, Ukraine’s defense budget has increased dramatically. In 2014, its defense budget was about 3% of the GDP, while in 2016 the defense budget will amount to approximately 5%, a staggering 67% increase in just two years, making the country’s economic situation more difficult. In a similar fashion, Israel’s defense budget is approximately 5% of its’ GPD.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem / Photo: Israel’s honorary consulate to the Ukraine)