The Government of Canada has offered to provide a loan of up to CAD 120 million to support the economic stability and development of Ukraine.
“Today, the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, and the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that Canada has offered to provide a loan of up to CAD 120 million to the Government of Ukraine to support the country’s economic resilience and governance reforms,” the Government of Canada said in a statement on Friday.
In addition, Canada has also offered to provide a technical assistance grant of up to CAD 6 million to support the implementation of the loan. Canadian and Ukrainian officials are already meeting to discuss the potential terms of the loan and a timeline for its implementation.
“Ukrainians can always count on Canada to be there for them when needed. By working together, we can strengthen the economy and help advance governance reforms. I authorized this proposed loan to support Ukraine’s ability to respond to its population’s needs amid Russia’s aggressive actions. This is just one step in helping build a secure future for Ukrainians, and I will continue to look at ways to support Ukraine,” Sajjan said.
The Government of Canada also said that in 2014 and 2015, the country provided a CAD 400 million (CAD 200 million per year) loan to Ukraine to the then new government to support its economic recovery and development goals, and this loan was fully repaid with interest as scheduled in 2020.
The new assistance is provided under the CAD 620 million sovereign loan program approved in 2018. According to it, the maximum loan term is up to ten years. Principal and interest payments must be made at least once a year, with a possible grace period in certain circumstances, and a fixed rate of interest equal to the cost of the Canadian government loan.
The total amount of loans to the country under this program cannot exceed CAD 120 million.
On January 20, the National Bank of Ukraine said that due to the military threat from Russia, Ukraine’s eurobond rates rose to double-digit stress levels, and the country temporarily lost access to the market for external commercial loans. According to the NBU, in such conditions, the role of financing from international financial organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank, as well as partner countries, increases.
European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi will visit Kyiv on January 26 and 27, the European Commission told Interfax-Ukraine.
The European Commission said the commissioner will visit Ukraine next week, January 26 and 27, the exact schedule is still being prepared.
The European Commission believes that this visit will provide an opportunity to send a strong signal of support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, EU engagement in promoting resilience to hybrid threats, as well as sustainable economic growth through the Economic and Investment Plan and further integration with the EU based on the Association Agreement.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Anatoliy Petrenko Ambassador of Ukraine to Saudi Arabia.
“Appoint Anatoliy Hryhorovych Petrenko Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said the text of Decree No.15/2022 of January 21, published on the President’s website.
The average level of provision of agricultural enterprises with mineral fertilizers for spring-summer field work in Ukraine as of January 20, 2022 is 11%, according to a presentation on the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food.
According to it, data on fertilizer reserves of 11 regions – Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zakarpattia, Kyiv, Lviv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi and Chernihiv regions – have not yet been provided to the ministry.
Zaporizhia region is the most provided for the upcoming sowing season (57% of the need), followed by Khmelnytsky (26%), Zhytomyr (22%), Donetsk (21%), Kirovohrad (20%), Ternopil (15%), Mykolaiv and Ivano-Frankivsk (13% each), Poltava (12%), Volyn (10%), Odesa (7%), Rivne (6%) and Luhansk (1%) regions.
The State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine increased revenues to the state budget for the provided special permits and geological information by 1.6 times (by UAH 597 million) in 2021 compared to 2020, to UAH 1.58 billion, head of the service Roman Opimakh has said.
“We have all the prerequisites that 2022 will not be worse,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
According to him, in particular, revenues to the state budget from licenses sold at electronic auctions increased by 14.7% (by UAH 118 million) in 2021 compared to 2020, to UAH 923 million. The number of special permits sold through e-auction increased by 3.8 times (by 118), to 160.
In general, last year the service issued 377 new licenses, which is 2.8 times more than in 2020 (136). Every third of them was issued for the raw materials used in the construction, the most popular were special permits for amber, and the most expensive lots traditionally were hydrocarbon sites.
Opimakh clarified that in 2021, the State Geology Service granted special permits for the development of over 50,000 square meters of hydrocarbon areas. The main recipients were the companies of Naftogaz Group, in particular, the first gas produced at Yuzivska area is expected as early as 2022.
In addition, the Service prepared 35 facilities for investors in the development of strategic raw materials, which are used in the defense industry, aircraft manufacturing and the “green transition.”
“A list of strategic minerals has finally been approved, which includes 37 elements. An atlas of strategic minerals has also been submitted, a list of over 200 potential sites has been compiled, which we expect to be approved in 2022 and to be open for auctions or signing of agreements on production section, an interactive map of such special permits, deposits and ore occurrences was compiled – more than 900 objects,” Opimakh said.
At the same time, he recalled that Ukraine still has limited access to geological information on the reserves of strategic raw materials. “The Ministry of Natural Resources worked hard on this last year, I hope that the work will end with the removal of this stamp,” the head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil said.
Opimakh also recalled that in 2021, the largest number of special permits in recent times, 315, was revoked. The key grounds for revocation were court decisions (73%), voluntary refusal (10%) and decisions of the National Security and Defense Council (9%). In terms of minerals: construction materials and groundwater – 31% each, coal – 23%, hydrocarbons – 12%, and metal ores – 2%.
The key grounds for revocation are the following: subsoil use has not been started for two years, there are no documents for land for subsoil use, the absence of a mining allotment certificate, non-admission to the facility for inspections, failure to comply with the requirements of design documents or their absence.
In addition, the Service took an active part in the fight against illegal mining, the bulk of which is associated with sand. In particular, the possibility of prompt verification of the legality of mining through a smartphone has been created.
“Together with the State Geological Information Fund, we have prepared an excellent product that will make it easier for the police and the public to check for a special permit at the operational level. If you see, perhaps, illegal mining, then you can see if there is a special permit and whether it is valid,” he explained.
The service’s materials also clarified that in 2021, subsoil users paid UAH 51.5 billion in royalty payments.
