KIEV, Feb. 25 – Viktor Yanukovych on Thursday was sworn in as Ukraine’s president and pledged to start economic reforms, fight corruption and encourage foreign investments in order to boost the economy.

Yanukovych, 59, took the oath of office in a low-key ceremony in Parliament that lawmakers from the group led by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, his rival, refused to attend. Outgoing President Viktor Yushchenko was also conspicuous by his absence.

Addressing a gathering of officials, lawmakers and foreign dignitaries after the inauguration, Yanukovych said Ukraine faced "colossal debts,” poverty, corruption and economic collapse.

"Ukraine needs a strategy of innovative movement forward and such a strategy has been worked out by our team," he said.

In order to encourage foreign investment, Yanukovych said he sought to restore political stability, end corruption and set out rules governing links between the state and business.

Ukraine's economy has been hit hard by the global downturn which dramatically reduced its key exports of steel and chemicals, also dramatically cutting the value of the hryvnia since October 2008.

The country is dependent on a $16.4 billion International Monetary Fund bail-out program, but lending was suspended in November 2009 as the government had failed to cut budget deficit and start reforms.

An IMF technical team is expected to come to Ukraine within the next several weeks, according to the finance ministry.

Yanukovych has said earlier he wants to change a 10-year agreement on supplies of Russian gas to Ukraine which was negotiated by Tymoshenko and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in January 2009.

He also says he will pursue a balanced foreign policy and has vowed to push for closer ties with the European Union.

In his speech on Thursday, Yanukovych kept all his options open, saying his foreign policy would be one of "equal and mutually-advantageous ties" with Russia, the EU and the United States which would reap "maximum results" for Ukraine.

Yanukovych beat Tymoshenko by 3.5 percentage points in the runoff election on February 7, but she had refused to concede the defeat.

Tymoshenko dropped her legal challenge to Yanukovych's election on Saturday, but still questions legitimacy of the victory. She and most of her bloc in Parliament stayed away from the inauguration, giving the ceremony a hollow ring.

Despite Yanukovych's call for the establishment of a "competent executive power", Tymoshenko is still resisting attempts to oust her as prime minister, signaling continued political tension at least in the short-term. (tl/rt/ez)