Ukraine is a strategic partner for the Republic of Moldova, and maintaining constant and pragmatic cooperation with Ukraine is an important task for Moldova, said Moldovan President Maia Sandu during her official visit to Ukraine.
“I am glad to be in Kyiv as President to restore friendship between our countries at the highest level. In recent years, the Moldovan-Ukrainian dialogue at the level of heads of state has been virtually suspended. I confirm that Ukraine is a strategic partner for the Republic of Moldova, and maintaining constant and pragmatic cooperation with Ukraine is an important task for the Republic of Moldova and for the President,” Maia Sandu said at a press conference following talks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday.
She stressed that during today’s talks, the parties had agreed to bring relations between the two countries to another level – strategic partnership.
“Today we are taking an important step towards the establishment of these strategic relations. We decided to create the Council of Presidents of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine as a new permanent format of cooperation at a high level,” Sandu said.
According to the Moldovan President, this mechanism of constant interaction will help in the development of policies and strategies, and will contribute to solving problems on the bilateral agenda, as well as to monitor the implementation of the agreed agreements.
“During the meeting, we reaffirmed our joint desire to intensify the implementation of the European integration program by our countries. This path is a strategic option for the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, and a reliable way of developing a functional state with a modern market economy in the interests of citizens,” she stressed.
Sandu added that the heads of state also spoke in favor of strengthening the Moldovan-Ukrainian partnership with the Eastern Partnership, in particular within the framework of the summit of this initiative, which will be held this year.
“We paid special attention to the issues of Moldovan-Ukrainian relations, which for a long time remained unresolved. We agreed to intensify efforts and identify mutually beneficial solutions to existing problems. In this context, we agreed to resume dialogue through the specialized institutions of our countries, including the continuation of the activities of working groups and bilateral sectoral commissions on current issues,” she explained.
Sandu noted that the presidents discussed the need to find solutions in the interests of citizens of both countries in such key areas as ensuring security on the joint state border, ensuring environmental protection, cooperation in the energy sector, regulation in accordance with international law and in the interests of both countries related to the mutual recognition of property rights, the constant and balanced development of bilateral trade, the liberalization of international transport between countries and the problems associated with the operation of the Dniester hydropower complex.
“Taking into account that the waters of the Dniester River provide life to more than 7 million people who live in the basin of this river both in the Republic of Moldova and in Ukraine, it is very important to continue the dialogue between our countries to ensure the protection and sustainable use of the Dniester River, so that its water serve both our generation and future generations,” the head of state believes.
She and Zelensky also agreed to expedite the search for a sustainable solution to ensure mutual travel based on ID cards, which would benefit the citizens of both countries, she said.
Sandu noted that one of the projects discussed during the meeting concerns the development of road infrastructure on the Chisinau-Soroca-Yampil-Kyiv highway.
“This will create an automobile transport corridor that will reduce trip time between Chisinau and Kyiv, and may become the fastest route from the central region of Ukraine to the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe,” she said.
The President of Moldova started her speech in Ukrainian. She also thanked Zelensky for the invitation to make this visit.
Accrued insurance premiums under Green Card international insurance contracts concluded by the member companies of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTIBU) in January-November 2020 decreased by 28.65% compared to the same period in 2019, to UAH 1.099 billion.
As the MTIBU reported on the website, the number of Green Card contracts concluded during this period fell by 44.9%, to 554,194.
At the same time, the amount of compensations paid on claims grew by 12.14%, to EUR 15.323 million, while the number of claims paid by 4.4%, to 15,323.
The MTIBU is the only association of insurers that provide compulsory insurance of civil liability of land vehicle owners for damage caused to third parties.
The net international reserves of Ukraine as of January 1 amounted to $ 18.1 billion, which is 19% more than at the beginning of December 2020 ($ 15.2 billion), Head of the Council of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Bohdan Danylyshyn has said.
“The net forex reserves of the NBU [excluding the debt to the IMF] as of January 1, 2021 amounted to $ 18.1 billion and are sufficient to cover payments by the public sector and the National Bank on external debt to non-residents, which in 2021 will amount to about $ 7.2 billion,” he said on Facebook.
Danylyshyn added that of the external debt to non-residents, about $ 2 billion should be paid by the government on eurobonds in September 2021, as well as to cover the current account deficit, which, according to the NBU forecast, is expected at $ 3.5 billion in 2021.
According to him, the volume of planned payments of the state in favor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2021 is about $ 1.6 billion, including $ 1.36 billion for the repayment of the principal amount of the debt and $ 260 million for interest payments.
“The need to refinance Ukraine’s debt to the IMF requires the parties to fulfill their obligations under the current Stand-By Arrangement, which will allow Ukraine to attract IMF financing in the amount of about $ 2.9 billion,” he said.
He added that taking into account payments on the debt of banking and corporate sectors, as well as inter-company debt, the total volume of payments from Ukraine in favor of non-residents in 2021 will be about $ 15.5 billion.
As reported, the international reserves of Ukraine in 2020 increased by 15% and amounted to $ 29.1 billion as of January 1, 2021.
The supply chain company Czarnikow (the UK) has signed a representative agreement with the Ukrainian company Entrypoint, created by the ex-managers of Astarta, to finance, procure and supply food ingredients and packaging for companies in Ukraine, Entrypoint said in a press release.
“This partnership is built on Entrypoint’s long standing history in the food and beverage industry in Ukraine, and surrounding markets, together with Czarnikow’s global presence, supply chain capabilities, financing and sourcing,” William Rook, Czarnikow Director and Head of Ingredients, said.
Mykola Kovalski, the co-founder of Entrypoint, has collaborated with Czarnikow in the past through his work with leading Ukrainian food and energy businesses. He was Business Development Manager at Astarta Group, Ukraine’s leading sugar producer.
“As consumer demand across the region is becoming more exquisite and diverse, Entrypoint will be instrumental in connecting Czarnikow with reliable end buyers,” he said.
“Having signed an agency agreement with Entrypoint Group, a business intelligence consultancy in Ukraine, Czarnikow will be leveraging its global platform to competitively source, ship and finance food ingredients and packaging to Ukraine and the surrounding markets of Moldova, Georgia and Belarus,” the report says.
“Best known for its 160 years of experience in the global sugar market, in recent years Czarnikow has expanded its product offering to include food ingredients and packaging such as dairy, sweeteners, fruit and PET. These products have brought new opportunities both with longstanding, established clients and new potential markets. To make the most of new opportunities, Czarnikow is working with individuals with local on-the-ground understanding of specific regions,” according to the press release.
Entrypoint provides transaction and risk advisory services with a regional focus on Ukraine, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
The mobile network operator Kyivstar has begun to use a digital graphic signature on the screen to connect contract subscribers to its network in its branded stores, as well as in national and regional multi-brand electronics networks.
The operator’s press service said on Monday that the introduction of the digital graphic signature is an opportunity to speed up service and use a more environmentally friendly way of document flow that does not require paper consumption.
“Subscribers and store employees do not need to spend time preparing and printing paper documents. As a result, now it takes only about 5 minutes to sign mobile phone contracts,” the press service said.
Kyivstar said that the digital graphic signature is a handwritten signature of an individual on the tablet screen, linked to the contract, and is confirmed by a qualified electronic signature of the operator.
The functionality became possible thanks to the introduction of Jet, the new application for service and sales in Kyivstar branded stores and multi-brand electronics networks.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has said that almost 550,000 jobs were saved thanks to government business support programs.
“The key role here was played by the partial unemployment program, according to which state support for business amounted to more than UAH 3 billion,” Shmyhal wrote on Facebook.
According to him, thanks to state support in 2020, more than 600,000 Ukrainians were employed.
