UKRAINE CREATES TOP-LEVEL INVESTMENT COUNCIL.

The Ukrainian press published yesterday a decree by President Leonid Kuchma which institutes a Consultative Council to look into ways of attracting foreign capital investment. To be chaired by Kuchma himself, the council will include senior presidential administration officials, cabinet ministers, and a secretariat as a standing working body. Its mission is "to apply the developed world’s economic experience and facilitate Ukraine’s integration into the global economy." The council is designed in part as a forum for foreign investors to air complaints and suggest changes in policy and legislation. A score of leading international corporations from Western Europe, North America, and Japan have been invited to send delegates to the council’s deliberations. (Ukrinform, Interfax-Ukraine, AP, April 14 -15) The measure apparently seeks to find ways of repairing the damage done by last week’s parliamentary decision to rescind tax incentives for foreign investors. (See Monitor, April 14)

THE SOUTH CAUCASUS