Ministry of Economic Development Could Be Dissolved: Ukrainian Minister

KIEV, January 11 (Sputnik) — Ukraine’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade could be dissolved after the implementation of major reforms, Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius said Sunday.

“We are discussing this option at meetings of the Cabinet, realizing that some ministries over time can be scrapped,” Abromavicius was quoted as saying by the Novoye Vremya news website.

According to Abromavicius, the economic development ministry is not needed in its current form, and the government is currently discussing two possible options to transform it. The first would involve dissolving the ministry and transferring its functions to the finance ministry and the National Bank, while the other stipulates a reorganization which would leave it with only those functions that are necessary to implement reforms.

In December, Abromavicius made international headlines when he described his own ministry as a “bureaucratic monster” and called Ukraine the most corrupt country in Europe.

The Lithuanian-born investment banker and partner in the East Capital asset management group was granted Ukrainian citizenship by President Petro Poroshenko in December 2014, which allowed him to serve in Ukraine’s new cabinet.