Ruslan Shostak, President of TERWIN Corporation, took part in the panel discussion “Protect Investors, Build Trust” at the Kyiv International Economic Forum, where participants discussed trust between business and the state as the foundation for the country’s economic development.

“For perhaps the first time in the history of independent Ukraine, the government is beginning to understand the obvious: the only source of state revenue is business. We are gradually shifting from treating business like sheep to be sheared — to treating it like bees that make honey and pollinate flowers, creating a living ecosystem around them. With this approach, we will soon become a developed country, where the government and business work together — bringing honey to the state, not squeezing out its last drops,” said Ruslan Shostak, President of TERWIN Corporation, during his speech.

The panel featured TERWIN President Ruslan Shostak, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko, Head of the Bureau of Economic Security Oleksandr Tsyvinsky, Acting Head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine Lesia Karnaukh, Member of the Board of Directors of the pharmaceutical company Darnytsia Kateryna Zahorii, Founder of Textile-Contact Oleksandr Sokolovsky, and Senior Partner at the law firm Aequo Oleksii Filatov. The participants discussed how to move from control to partnership, make investor protection part of the new system, and build trust between business and the state as a foundation for Ukraine’s economic resilience.

According to Ruslan Shostak, Ukraine today faces several key tasks that must be addressed systematically — not just in words, but in action — in the interests of business:

• De-shadowing the economy, because the budget cannot be built at the expense of “white” (legal) businesses.

• Insurance for businesses and investments under wartime conditions as a matter of national security.

• Deregulation and process automation to reduce bureaucracy.

• Attracting investments — because without trust, money will not come, no matter how good the rhetoric sounds.

• Creation of a unified body for business protection, capable of resolving entrepreneurs’ issues quickly, substantively, and without political influence.

At the same time, he emphasized that the government is showing readiness for dialogue and is striving to form a common policy of trust and partnership with business. “When everyone in the country is interested in its development and growth, investors themselves will want to become part of the Ukrainian story and start investing in Ukraine,” concluded Ruslan Shostak.