Mr. Oleksandr Chalyi delivered open lecture and moderated the discussion on the Ukrainian – American relationships and new geopolitical reality. The meeting was rather different from traditional business-oriented meetings as was devoted to the fate of Ukraine in the new world and the latest global trends.

First of all, Ukraine’s chances in the new brave world do not look very poor. “On one hand we do not have our consolidating idea but on the other hand we can build on the situation when it will play its role in reconciling between Russia and the West,” said he. In particular he mentioned that improvement of the Russian – American relations looks good for Ukraine as it may allow ceasing fire in the East of our country. According to Mr. Chalyi drastic changes could make Ukraine find the new role. However, in the worst case scenario Ukraine would easily turn into the bone of contention between the big global players like Russia, America and China.

Secondly, the trends which influenced the election of Mr. Trump in America are extremely dominant in the Western world. In particular, the globalization and jobs relocation compromised the living standards of the Western middle class. Financial and manufacturing sectors’ contradictions worsened the situation as well. Anti-liberal movement has been on the rise in Europe which was demonstrated by the Brexit. Nevertheless, nobody seemed to expect similar situation in the US. It was Mr. Trump who turned the tide because he was perceived as the voice of the middle class suffering from the latest changes.

Another obvious trend is switching from the unipolar world to the multipolar one. The so-called network globalization may be implemented either through multilateral negotiations and agreements or America is doing it ‘its way’ and other countries are just adapting. With the president-elect it looks like the latter with America enhancing its position of isolation.

For Ukraine it is time to play its cards wisely because the new US president’s policy in fact may help us to re-invent or rather invent ourselves. Business community is destined to play its significant role in that process.