February 28, 2023 - (Reprinted by permission from NAM Input) At the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) board meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the American business community, emphasizing that while the world has a moral imperative to stand with Ukraine and against Russian tyranny, the rebuilding of the country will also offer tremendous opportunities for innovation and technological advancement.
Introduction: NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons introduced Zelenskyy, saying that he had “inspired and rallied the free world to support the cause of the Ukrainian people.”
“America, and the American business community, stands with Ukraine today, tomorrow, through the end of the war and as Ukrainians rebuild their country after Russia is defeated,” Timmons affirmed.
Defeating tyranny: “Ladies and gentlemen, I greet you from free Ukraine and thank you for your attention and support of our struggle for freedom and independence,” Zelenskyy began.
“Ukraine is indeed the place where democracy will defeat tyranny. The united democracy: Ukrainian, American, all our allies and partners,” he continued.
“When Russia loses, we will prove that terrorist states cannot overcome the power of a united democratic world.”
Calling for support: “Right now we are calling on all businesses to come to Ukraine and to leave the Russian market,” Zelenskyy said.
“It is obvious that [the] post-hostilities reconstruction of Ukraine will give an extraordinary moral advantage to all businesses that will be in [it]. And it is also obvious that every business that is now helping the Russian tyranny in any way will not be able to avoid problems and [a] reputation crisis,” he said.
“The American business [community] has every opportunity to take leadership positions, both in the reconstruction of the Ukrainian economy and infrastructure and in demonstrating to the world that human nature should serve worthy goals and that it produces, and will always produce, the best result,” Zelenskyy said.
Energy: “We need to rebuild the energy system of Ukraine based on new security principles. It is in Ukraine that we will combine green transformation with security transformation and create an example for the same transformation in other countries…” Zelenskyy said.
“Ukraine is an opportunity that will give a historic impulse to the entire [energy] industry,” he continued. “Solar power plants, wind power plants, small hydroelectric power plants, biomass burning plants. Our modernized and centralized energy system is a project worth hundreds of billions of dollars and [has] the potential of replication for other nations.”
Opportunities: “Machine building in Ukraine, agricultural processing in Ukraine, weapons production in Ukraine—including modern drones—IT in Ukraine, infrastructure and transport in Ukraine, localization of business in Ukraine, and convenient logistics with other markets from Ukraine, human capital of Ukraine … this is a wide space for victories—your victories, American business,” Zelenskyy said.
The last word: “I urge you to prepare for these victories now, to come to Ukraine now so that by the time we restore peace, your hard work has already yielded results,” Zelenskyy said.
“Thank you for your attention. I invite all of you to Ukraine. Glory to our brave soldiers. Glory to Ukraine.”