KIEV, Ukraine, December 5 (R-Sport) - Ukraine's under-fire President Viktor Yanukovych has urged Chinese business to back his dream of staging the Winter Olympics.
Yanukovych is on an official visit to China despite massive anti-government protests at home over his decision to reject an Association Agreement offering improved trade and political ties with the European Union. Opposition demonstrators are demanding the president’s resignation.
He appealed to investors at a business forum in Beijing to support Ukraine’s ambition to host the 2022 Winter Olympics in the city of Lviv. Officials in Ukraine signed a formal declaration of intent last month to bid for the Games in a ceremony led by its Olympic committee chief Sergei Bubka, the former pole vault Olympic champion.
"I call upon Chinese business to take part in the realization of this project," Yanukovych, 63, told the forum in relation to Ukraine’s Olympic Hope-2022 program, according to the presidential press service.
"The creation and development of the tourist-sporting industry in Ukraine is very promising. The tourist sector is taking on greater significance in the development of the economy and the social sphere in Ukraine, and is fast integrating into the world tourism industry.”
Yanukovych highlighted the potential for development in the Carpathian Mountains, where he said some of the winter sports events could take place, as well as Crimea’s summer resorts.
The president made a presentation in Doha, capital of Qatar, last week, calling for similar investments from the Qatari business community.
