The upcoming Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC-2025) on July 10-11 this year in Rome will be attended by over two thousand participants, including almost 100 different delegations and 700 enterprises, said Italy’s Special Envoy for Ukraine Recovery Davide La Cecilia.
He pointed out at the Ukrainian House on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday that URC-2025 will feature conferences focusing on four areas: business, human capital, regional development and European integration.
According to La Cecilia, the conference will be held on two levels: the first will be organized panel discussions, while the second will be a recovery forum and a business fair.
As the Ambassador informed, the latter will feature 120 stalls, including 30 presented by Ukrainian companies, 30 by Italian companies and another 30 by international companies.
Cecilia noted that the Italian business community has expressed an active desire to participate in the Conference, and at the moment the process of consultations with them has started.
The Ambassador also said that in preparation for URC-2025 on March 5 in Milan will be held an event in cooperation with the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which will be attended by a hundred Ukrainian companies, a hundred Italian and a hundred representatives of the international community. “We will talk about housing construction, about energy,” the special envoy added.
Cecilia also indicated that further on April 2, Kiev will host a civil society event, and the next event is scheduled for May 10 in Verona.
The number of international tourist arrivals recorded globally in 2024 was 1.4 billion, 99% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels, the United Nations Tourism (UN Tourism) said.
“Last year was a year of recovery for international tourism after the worst crisis in the industry’s history. Most destinations welcomed more international travelers in 2024 than before the pandemic, and their spending continued to grow strongly. In total, 1.4 billion tourists traveled internationally, an 11% increase from 2023, marking a 99% recovery to pre-pandemic levels,” the report said.
According to the organization, the growth is attributed to strong travel demand following the pandemic and the continued recovery of tourism in Asia-Pacific countries. The Middle East, Europe and Africa performed best in the recovery of tourist flows.
“The Middle East is the region with the largest growth in international tourism after the pandemic. It recorded 95 million tourist arrivals in 2024, up 32% from 2019. Africa welcomed 7% more tourists in 2024 than in 2019 (74 million), Europe by 1%. The European continent, which received 747 million foreign tourists or almost half of the total international flow, remains the world’s most attractive region for tourism,” the report said.
According to UN Tourism, all European countries surpassed 2019 levels with the exception of Central and Eastern European states.
“The Americas welcomed 213 million tourists, just 3% less than in 2019. The Caribbean and Central America have already exceeded pre-pandemic levels. The Asia-Pacific region continues to recover international tourist flows. It welcomed 316 million tourists in 2024, 87% of 2019 levels. Compared to 2023, arrivals are up 33%,” the organization said.
In 2024, Nova Poshta, the leader of express shipments in Ukraine, increased the volume of shipments by 16% compared to 2023 – up to 480 million shipments.
“According to the results of 2024, Nova Poshta set a new record for parcel delivery – 480 million shipments. This is 16% more than in 2023, when Nova Poshta transported 412 million parcels,” the company’s press service said on Tuesday.
The number of international parcels delivered by Nova Poshta in 2024 increased by 86% compared to 2023, to 19 million. The company delivered 4 million international shipments between countries.
The company’s customers ordered goods from China, the US, Poland, and the UK. The most popular items were cases and covers, headphones, T-shirts, children’s accessories, and household items. The favorite stores of Ukrainians in the NP Shopping service were eBay, Amazon, Zara, H&M and Nike.
“Ukrainians are a people who like to look good, dress stylishly and read a lot. At the same time, they are happy to print something on a 3D printer,” Nova Global (a division of Nova Poshta) reported on Linkedin.
According to the data, in 2024, 57% of goods were ordered by Ukrainians in the United States, 19% in Poland, 10% in the UK, and 9% in Germany.
Last year, Ukrainians most often received clothes, household goods, decorative cosmetics, spare parts and components for various equipment, shoes, household items, and food at Nova Poshta offices, the company said.
“Nova Poshta operates in 16 European countries: France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Romania, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Moldova.
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The Supervisory Board of the insurance group “TAS” (Kiev) has decided to terminate the activities of the Volyn regional directorate, as well as Rivne and Kherson branches, the company reported in the information disclosure system of the National Commission for Securities and Stock Market. As it is specified, the decision was made in connection with the reorganization of the network of separate subdivisions.
Earlier SG “TAS” reported that it refuses the traditional system of separate subdivisions, because in the new conditions, this model does not fully meet the current requirements and is essentially outdated.
“2025 will be without exaggeration the year of cardinal changes in the insurance industry of Ukraine, which is associated primarily with the updated legislative framework, fundamentally changing the rules of the game for all participants and aimed at bringing the work of the domestic market to European standards. TAS Insurance Group has decided to transform its sales network into a partner network”, – noted in the group.
SG “TAS” was registered in 1998. It is a universal company offering its clients more than 80 types of insurance products for various types of voluntary and compulsory insurance. It has an extensive regional network: 28 regional directorates and branches and 450 sales offices throughout Ukraine.
Most companies expect the United States’ support for Ukraine to continue or increase (77%), while the rest predict its decrease (23%).
This is evidenced by the results of the survey “Doing Business in Military Ukraine. January 2025” by the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (AmCham).
According to information on the website of the organization, when asked about the likelihood of a ceasefire in 2025, 61% of respondents said they believe it is possible, 31% – doubtful, and 8% – expect escalation on the front.
“85% of companies are fully operational and will continue to invest in Ukraine in 2025. This is a strong signal for those considering Ukraine as an investment destination. While 77% of businesses expect continued or increased US support, the momentum of Ukraine’s recovery is creating opportunities for forward-thinking investors,” AmCham President Andrei Gunder was quoted as saying by the organization.
It is emphasized that, compared to 2024, 53% of respondents forecast sales growth in 2025, with the majority expecting moderate growth of up to 15%. At the same time, 37% believe sales will remain at last year’s level, with 10% predicting a decline. Compared to the pre-war time, 39% of respondents expect growth, 34% – decline, and 27% – stability.
It is noted that investment in Ukraine remains a key priority for many companies. Despite difficult times, 35% of respondents plan to increase investments in 2025, while 48% plan to maintain them at the level of 2024. The European Union is expected to be the main source of investment (88%). This is followed by the United States (71%) and Asia (18%).
Regarding the location of employees and management, the survey showed that 45% of companies have employees in Ukraine, while 43% operate a hybrid model with employees in and outside Ukraine. In addition, 59% of management teams are based entirely in Ukraine, while 37% operate under a hybrid model.
According to the survey data regarding the economic forecast for 2025, it is cautiously optimistic. More than 40% of respondents expect growth in economic and business activity compared to 2024, almost 50% foresee stability, and 12% predict a decline.
The survey, conducted from January 8-16, 2025, surveyed 145 CEOs and senior executives of Chamber member companies across a variety of industries. Two-thirds of the respondents were CEOs.
As reported, in the previous survey conducted on December 5 among the participants of the annual meeting of members (AmCham) (230 respondents), more than three-quarters (77.8%) expected a ceasefire in 2025.
Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported that almost 68% of respondents expected newly elected US President Donald Trump to come to Kiev in 2025, almost two-thirds – 62.7% – expected the resumption of international flights to Ukraine in 2025.
TikTok is no longer available to users in the U.S., the result of a controversial law that forces the popular platform to go offline unless it separates from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, npr.org reported.
“When users tried to open the app around 10:35 p.m. ET, a message appeared saying, ‘Sorry, TikTok is currently unavailable. A law banning TikTok has gone into effect in the United States. Unfortunately, this means you cannot use TikTok right now.”
The post goes on to say that newly elected President Donald Trump has promised to “work with us on a solution to restore TikTok as soon as he takes office. Please stay tuned! ”
Around the same time, TikTok also stopped appearing in the Apple and Google Play app stores. A law recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Apple and Google to remove the service from their app stores. It also ordered web hosting companies, including TikTok’s internal cloud provider, Oracle, to stop supporting the app. Otherwise, they will face penalties that could reach billions of dollars.
