Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytor Kuleba has held a video conversation with Chinese Ambassador to Ukraine Fan Xianrong, during which he thanked the PRC for the party of humanitarian aid that will arrive in Ukraine on Wednesday, the press service of the Foreign Ministry has said.
“Kuleba expressed gratitude to China for helping Ukraine in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and the humanitarian aid party, which will arrive in Ukraine on April 1. It will include PCR tests, remote thermometers, medical glasses and other personal protective equipment for medical personnel,” the message said.
The parties also agreed to continue cooperation in this area. In particular, Xianrong, at the request of Kuleba, confirmed the possibility of facilitating the centralized delivery to Ukraine of the assistance that Chinese cities collected for Ukrainian twin cities.
In addition, with the aim of developing a strategic partnership between Ukraine and China tomorrow, April 1, Kuleba and Wang Yi will hold the first telephone conversation between the foreign ministers of the two countries.
Among other things, the parties discussed trade and investment between the countries, in particular, promising projects that could soon be implemented in Ukraine with the participation of the Chinese side.
“Supporting Ukrainian exporters is my priority. According to the results of 2019, China has become the main trading partner for Ukraine. The trade turnover between our countries reached a record $12.8 billion. This year we must not only maintain, but also develop this success by balancing the structure of trade,” Kuleba said.
SkyUp Airlines (Kyiv), the Ukrainian airline, brought home almost 19,000 Ukrainians with special flights, more than 2,000 Ukrainians and foreigners were embarked to their countries of residence, co-owner of the company Oleksandr Alba said on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
According to him, for this purpose SkyUp aircrafts made over 100 special flights to 30 countries within nine days.
“We know that our fellow citizens still remain abroad and are ready to provide assistance for their return when the opportunity arises for this,” he said.
As reported, SkyUp due to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers canceled all scheduled flights until April 24.
SkyUp LLC was registered in Kyiv in June 2016. The founder is ACS-Ukraine LLC of Tetiana and Yuriy Alba, who also own the JoinUp! tour operator.
Nova Poshta group of companies has paid for sewing 2,000 special protective suits for doctors from Chernivtsi, the company said on Tuesday.
In the near future, a purchase order worth UAH 1 million will be completed and personal protective equipment delivered to the city’s hospitals.
According to the statement, assistance to Chernivtsi was provided under the decision adopted by the company on March 15 to allocate UAH 25 million for the purchase of medical equipment, supplies, medicines and personal protective means for medical institutions in Ukraine.
“In the near future, Nova Poshta will supply several more artificial lung ventilators to medical institutions. We continue to urge representatives of business, volunteers, and public organizations to join the honorable thing, to contribute and provide the country’s hospitals with everything necessary by joint efforts,” co-founder of the company Inna Popereshniuk said.
She also said that today the health and lives of millions of Ukrainians depend on the responsible social position of business as well.
HOSPITALS, INVESTS, NOVA POSHTA, PROTECTIVE SUITS, PURCHASING
The Preply international marketplace for finding tutors has raised a new $10 million round of funding. London-based Hoxton Ventures acted as a lead investor in the round.
According to a press release of the company, Point Nine Capital, All Iron Ventures, The Family, EduCapital, and Diligent Capital also participated in the round along with angel investors: Arthur Kosten from Booking.com; Gary Swart, ex-CEO of Upwork; David Helgason, founder of Unity Technologies; and Danielle Hoffer, founder of Couchsurfing.
The funding will help the company strengthen its position in North America, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the UK. Besides, Preply will open a branch in the United States.
In addition, Preply also expands the platform. The startup plans to launch new tools for its tutors and to develop a mobile application for Android and iOS.
“The new funding allows us to bring a more in-depth, immersive and convenient experience to both tutors and learners all over the world. Today, we are laser focused on language learning, but ultimately, I envision a future where anyone can learn anything using Preply,” CEO of Preply Kirill Bigai said in a statement.
The startup was founded in 2012 by Bigai, Serge Lukianov (Head of Product Design) and Dmytro Voloshyn (CTO) with offices in Kyiv and Berlin. The company currently employs 125 staff.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has held a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and in the context of a possible increase of financial assistance to Ukraine to fight against COVID-19 coronavirus, they agreed to redirect EUR 150 million under a German state loan to relevant needs.
“The parties discussed the situation around the spread of coronavirus in the world, as well as practical measures taken in both countries to counter the pandemic. It was agreed to work out the possibility of establishing information exchange related to the pandemic, in particular regarding medical standards introduced to treat the disease,” the press service of the head of the Ukrainian state reports on Tuesday.
Merkel positively noted the adoption of laws on the turnover of agricultural land and on the regulation of banking. In this context, she also noted the importance of early conclusion of negotiations with the IMF on a new cooperation program.
“They also spoke about the need to allocate additional funding for Ukraine from the European Union and the World Bank,” the message reads.
Representatives of the shopping center development market of Ukraine have sent an open letter to authorities asking to start a dialog on consolidation of actions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 and taking steps aimed at reviving business activities after the end of quarantine.
“The shopping centers and the companies that are represented in them are among the largest taxpayers. However, today they are most affected by quarantine, because understanding the responsibility and gravity of the situation visitors have limited access to malls. Developers faithfully and promptly complied with the decision of Cabinet of Ministers No. 210 on preventing the spread of COVID-19 in Ukraine,” they said in a collective letter sent on March 30, the text of which is available for Interfax-Ukraine.
In the letter, the developers drew attention to the need: to harmonize the content of the local protocols of the standing commissions of the fuel and energy complex and the emergency response with the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers; allow the sale of textile masks in malls; provide the opportunity to use public transport for employees of permitted groups of tenants; reduce the amount of VAT and defer the payment of income tax for three months after the end of quarantine; exempt from land fees, real estate tax and income tax; confirm holidays for bank loans; to keep the obligatory payment by the tenants for maintaining malls.
The letter is addressed to the President of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada, National Bank of Ukraine, Kyiv City Administration, the Bar Association and the European Business Association.
The document was signed by CEETRUS Ukraine Commercial Director Ganna Koryagina, Dragon Capital Property Management Commercial Director Nataliya Kravets, Arricano CEO Anna Chubotina, Chief Operation Officer of Budhouse Group Maksym Havriushyn, CEO of New Business Views (Odesa-based Riviera Shopping City mall) Andriy Brynzylo, representative of Terkury-2 (Podoliany mall in Ternopil) Mykhailo Ibrahimov, Operational Director of Davento Ukraine (network of the Equator shopping centers) Larysa Pervinenko, director of Smena (Hollywood shopping center in Chernihiv) Ruslan Zemliansky, and Commercial Director of Urban Oasis Center Ludmyla Vilischuk.
