The World Bank has provided recommendations to the National Strategy for the Development of Broadband Access to the Internet in Ukraine for 2020-2025.
According to a posting on the website of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the World Bank’s vision is that high-speed broadband access should be countrywide, reliable and financially affordable to every citizen of Ukraine.
The consultants recommend providing in Ukraine until 2025: 4G coverage for 95% of the population; full 5G coverage along major road and rail routes; connection to broadband access at a speed of 1 Gbps for all social infrastructure facilities providing services to the population; and availability of high-speed broadband access (at least 100 Mbit per second) for all households.
According to the calculations of the World Bank, $350-450 million is needed to cover all settlements with high-speed networks, which includes both funds from private companies and government aid, which should be about half of the mentioned amount.
When developing the National Strategy for the Development of Broadband Access, the specialists of the Ministry of Digital Development regularly consulted with the World Bank. After all, this authoritative organization, which is a project of the European Union, already has experience of such work, for example, in Georgia.
The World Bank recommended that smart technology can reduce road deaths by 8-10%, reduce travel time by 15-20%, and speed up the response time of ambulances by 25-30%.
In addition, according to the World Bank recommendations, raising Internet penetration in all developing countries allowed more efficiently settle 75% of the economic losses that occurred due to COVID-19.
The World Bank also said that in implementing the 5G communications standard, the government’s role in defining requirements and maintaining network security at the national level will be paramount. It is recommended that a 5G certification framework be defined and established, which should include the minimum security requirements implemented in operators’ networks, as well as measures to implement certification procedures for the various defined network elements. It is also recommended that the National Cybersecurity Center be involved in developing the certification.
Implementing and using certified equipment and procedures for 5G is important from a cybersecurity perspective and therefore should be continuously encouraged, the World Bank said.
The World Bank recommended covering 90% of territories with 4G networks by 2023, and increasing coverage to 99% by 2025. Also, by 2023, it is recommended to ensure uninterrupted coverage of 50% of main roads and railways with 5G communication, and by 2025, increase the coverage to 90%.
The penetration of broadband Internet coverage for households at a speed of at least 100 Mb per second by 2023 should be at least 80%, and by 2025 it should reach 100%.
The implementation of this strategy, taking into account the recommendations of the World Bank, will be a positive step in the partnership between Ukraine and the EU, the bank said.
The ministry said that the calculations of the World Bank coincide with the ministry’s own calculations, carried out in the preparation of the National Strategy for the Development of Broadband Access in Ukraine for 2020-2025.
Export proceeds from the supply of oilseeds from Ukraine in the 2019/2020 marketing year (MY, September-August) increased by 10% and amounted to $ 7.32 billion, CEO of UkrAgroConsult Serhiy Feofilov has said.
“The economy of Ukraine from export of oilseeds in September-August received more than $ 7.3 billion, which is 10% more compared to the previous season. We see an 11% increase in sunflower oil (in terms of export earnings),” he said during the international conference Black Sea Grain & Oil Trade 2020 in Kyiv.
So, according to him, last season Ukraine exported sunflower oil for $ 4.95 billion (6.8 million tonnes against 6.06 million tonnes in the 2018/2019 MY).
The director general of UkrAgroConsult also said that export of grains in the first two months of the season (July-August) is practically at the level of the previous season.
“This shows that despite the consequences of the coronavirus crisis, export continues and develops,” he said.
“Woman and golf” – during 5 years of existence of Open women’s tournaments these two words became inseparable. 2020 was a year of developing women`s golf and setting many records. Today, 30% of Ukrainian golfers are women
“The Ukrainian Golf Federation is actively developing golf in various areas: professional, children’s, inclusive, junior and a separate focus of our activity is women’s golf. This year, a number of initiatives have been launched to promote the rapid growth of golfers in Ukraine, including a large percentage of women. For us, the benchmark of achievements is the number of golfers and their results. “- said Vitaliy Khomutynnik, President of the Ukrainian Golf Federation.
Men joined women’s tournaments and play on a separate railway. Every time, the tournament gathers a record number of ladies in one round. For 11 participants, this competition was their debut.
“Everyone here finds theirs. Somebody competes for prizes and victory, someone enjoys the favorite game, and for some ladies, it comes to the first tournament in life. Thanks to this event and a number of other initiatives, we promote women’s golf, break stereotypes about the unavailability of this sport and attract new players “,- comment Elena Rudik, Member of the Federation and Director of Open Ladies Golf Tour.
Every year, participants play better, and new ones can join the world of golf right during the competition. Within the framework of each tournament there is a Golf School, where under the guidance of coaches, women learn the basics of the game. Everyone, who continues to practice, receives free accreditation from the Ukrainian Golf Federation.
According to the results of the competition, the victory was won by Maryna Dyachenko, the second place was taken by Olena Movchan, and the third place was taken by Veronika Rastvortseva. According to the participants of the tournament, golf is a sport that helps to live without losing focus on the main thing and allowing you to always feel the connection with nature.
The date of the meeting of the Ukrainian-Polish Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation will be agreed upon in the coming weeks. The relevant agreement was reached during a telephone conversation between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau on Wednesday.
“Dmytro Kuleba noted the importance of using all opportunities and platforms to promote economic and trade cooperation between Ukraine and Poland amid the continuing effect on the economies of both countries of the coronavirus [COVID-19] pandemic. The ministers agreed in the coming weeks to specify the date of the meeting of the Ukrainian-Polish Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s press service said.
Kuleba and Rau also discussed preparations for the visit of Polish President Andrzej Duda to Ukraine at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It is expected that the visit of the Polish president will contribute to the development of political cooperation and will allow reaching new agreements on a wide range of issues on the agenda of strategic partnership between Ukraine and Poland.
In addition, the ministers agreed to speed up the preparation for the video conference of the coordinators from the Foreign Ministries of the Lublin Triangle countries – Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania.
The parties also expressed their commitment to a positive solution to cultural and historical issues.
“Kuleba noted the importance of achieving progress in the implementation of agreements on the restoration of the burial place of UPA [Ukrainian Insurgent Army] soldiers on Mount Monastery near Przemyśl, who died in 1945 in a battle with the NKVD internal troops units. The interlocutors urged not to allow the historical past to influence the good-neighborly nature of the Ukrainian and Polish relations,” the ministry’s press service said.
Rau also said that Poland continues to support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and this topic will become a priority during Poland’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2022. He expressed his conviction that the sanctions of the European Union against Russia for the occupation of Crimea and certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions should remain in force until the full cessation of illegal actions by the Russian Federation.
Rau also confirmed Poland’s unchanging support for Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
The parties exchanged views and noted the commonality of their positions on the development of the situation in Belarus as well.
The Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA) in its September report lowered the forecast for the gross harvest of grains and oilseeds this season from 96.7 to 95.6 million tonnes, exports from 58.4 to 56.3 million tonnes due to unfavorable weather conditions for the harvest of late crops in some regions of Ukraine.
“Even after lowering the forecast for the harvest, its figure may be the second in terms of gross harvest after last year’s record – 98 million tonnes, the same can be said about the possible export volumes,” the association said in a press release posted on its website on Wednesday.
So, this year, according to UGA, farmers harvested 26.6 million tonnes of wheat (UGA forecast was at 26.8 million tonnes) and 8.3 million tonnes of barley (UGA predicted 8.2 million tonnes). According to the association’s forecasts, wheat exports this season may reach 17.5 million tonnes (in accordance with the signed memorandum), and barley may reach 4.5 million tonnes.
In addition, UGA slightly lowered its forecast for the corn harvest this season in the September report compared to the previous forecast in August from 36.4 million tonnes to 35.3 million tonnes due to unfavorable dry weather conditions in the southern and partly central regions of Ukraine.
According to UGA experts, farmers will not harvest corn for grain on an area of 205,000 hectares, which is 3.8% of the total area under corn. In other regions, which are the main corn producers, the harvest situation is satisfactory and good, and they are not experiencing critical losses.
Ukraine’s FX reserves in August 2020 tentatively expanded by 1%, to $29.049 billion, according to a Monday posting on the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
“As of September 1, 2020, Ukraine’s FX reserves amounted to $29.049 billion (equivalent), according to preliminary data. In August, they increased by 1%, primarily due to the favorable situation in the FX market,” the NBU said in the statement.
According to the central bank, the dynamics of reserves was influenced by its operations in the interbank FX market. In August the regulator bought $460.5 million and did not carry out operations to sell foreign currency. “In August, the supply of foreign currency exceeded demand and the NBU could replenish FX reserves,” the central bank said.
According to the report, the dynamics of reserves in August was also affected by FX earnings in favor of the government in the amount of $250.5 million from the sale of government domestic loan bonds denominated in foreign currency.
At the same time, the government allocated $645.2 million to repay the state debt in foreign currency, including $496.5 million on government bonds denominated in foreign currency, and the rest of the funds were provided for obligations to foreign creditors.
In August the government and the NBU paid $204.5 million to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In addition, the dynamics of the indicator in August was influenced by the revaluation of financial instruments (changes in the market value and the exchange rate of the hryvnia versus foreign currencies). Last month their value grew by $385 million in equivalent, according to the National Bank.
The regulator said that as of September 1, 2020, the volume of FX reserves covers 4.8 months of Current External Payments (CXP). This is enough to fulfill the obligations of Ukraine and the current operations of the government and the NBU.
According to the data posted on the website of the National Bank, its net FX reserves, which are calculated as the excess of gold and FX reserves over the central bank’s liabilities in foreign currency, increased by $339.31 million in August, to $17.813 billion after a decrease in July by $21.27 million.
In general, in January-August 2020, the NBU’s net FX reserves grew by 12.9%, or by $2.029 billion.
