The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection have agreed with the competent authority of the State of Kuwait on the form of an export veterinary certificate for the supply of milk and dairy products to this country, the state food service said in a press release on Tuesday.
“The Gulf region, in particular Kuwait, is of interest to many Ukrainian food producers. I am pleased to announce that today we have created additional opportunities for them to earn money in this market thanks to the joint work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Food Service. In the long term, this will also strengthen Ukraine’s position as a supplier of agricultural and food products to Kuwait,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
The form of this certificate is posted on the website of the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection.
“The work on opening new export markets is extremely important, since an increase in Ukrainian exports is a guarantee of the economic growth of our state,” Head of the service Vladyslava Mahaletska said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill to increase the number of servicemen in the Armed Forces by 11,000, and the relevant bill has been published on the website of the Verkhovna Rada.
“The bill proposes increasing at the legislative level the number of servicemen in the Ukrainian Armed Forces by 11,000 to ensure the functioning of a separate branch of the army, that is, the territorial defense forces, as well as the further development of the resistance system,” the explanatory note to the bill reads.
Thus, the president suggested approving the number of Armed Forces personnel in an amount not exceeding 261,000, including 215,000 military personnel.
According to the bill, during any special period, the size of the Ukrainian army is increased by the number of personnel called up for military service in pursuance of presidential orders on mobilization approved by the law.
Currently, the Ukrainian Armed Forces should not exceed 250,000 people, including 204,000 servicemen.
TAS Insurance Group (Kyiv) paid out UAH 101.57 million of compensation under concluded insurance contracts in April, which is 55.4% more than the corresponding figure for the second month of spring 2020, according to the insurer’s website.
According to a press release, 39.08% of the company’s payments in April fell, in particular, on OSAGO (UAH 39.7 million), which is 56.8% more than in the reporting period last year.
In turn, the share of KASKO in the April portfolio of the insurer’s payments amounted to 32.02%, or UAH 32.53 million (more by 62.3%)
Even more – by 95.1% – the volume of payments under voluntary medical insurance contracts increased: UAH 16.84 million were paid under them in April, which is 16.58% of the total amount of the insurer’s indemnities for the specified period.
According to Green Card policies, TAS paid UAH 10.39 million in April, which is 10.23% of the company’s total payments for the month and is 12.9% more than the corresponding figure for the reporting period of 2020.
Under other insurance contracts, TAS Insurance Group paid out UAH 2.11 million of indemnities in April.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a EUR 20 million senior secured loan to Winner Imports Ukraine LLC, Ukrainian importer and retailer of several well-known international vehicle brands. The money will be invested in sustainable dealerships for Renault and Volvo.
As reported on the bank’s website on Tuesday, the loan was approved by the EBRD’s board of directors on May 18. Financing will focus on green economy transition and circular economy through investments in dealerships, expansion of client’s logistic capacities, distribution and service infrastructure for vehicles, including electric.
“All building financed by the Bank will obtain BREEAM or EDGE sustainable certification. Project contributes to the adoption of advanced green practices in a country where such standards and practices are still uncommon, for instance, according to the latest data, only 12 BREEAM certificates have been issued in Ukraine to date with only one certificate issued in the retail category,” the EBRD said.
The total cost of the project is EUR 43 million, but the sources of co-financing are not given.
Winner Imports Ukraine LLC, part of Winner Group, is the official importer of Ford, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche and Bentley, SAIC Motor vehicles in Ukraine.
In addition, in 2020, the company became an official dealer of the Renault auto brand, since the spring of the same year it began to provide services for cars of this brand in its multi-brand center Winner Automotive, and has planned to open a Renault concept dealership this year.
Winner Group Ukraine has been operating in the Ukrainian market for over 28 years, during this time more than 140,000 cars have been sold and more than 50 dealer centers have been opened in Ukraine.
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food will perform a coordinating function in the anti-corruption audit of the State Land Cadastre, and the obtained data on land fraud will be transferred to law enforcement agencies, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Roman Leshchenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
According to him, relevant agreements have already been signed on conducting an independent anti-corruption audit with the involvement of international organizations, which will include data from the Ukrainian side and independent expertise. This information will be published on the open data portal, and information about land scammers will be provided for consideration by law enforcement agencies and the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC).
“The relevant data will be formed for all land scammers and a collegial decision of the National Security and Defense Council will be made in accordance with the current legislation,” the minister said.
Leshchenko said that the tracking of all schemes for the consolidation of assets and their beneficiaries will not end quickly, since all processes will be worked out systematically, without the use of selective measures. As an example, the minister cited a “network” formed on the basis of powers of attorney signed by 5,000 citizens, who authorized one person to execute registration and transfer of land plots.
“We are talking about land plots with the legal title of private farms, consolidated on the balance sheet of legal entities, including those with the beneficiaries, close to one or another vertical of power over the past 30 years of our statehood,” Leshchenko said.
Exemption of bioenergy projects on solid fuels from the payment of tax on carbon dioxide emissions will increase the interest of investors in these projects and the volume of investments in them, the deputy chairman of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine, Yuriy Shafarenko, has said.
“This will open up new opportunities for investment. Solar and wind plants are, of course, good, but Ukraine is an agricultural country, and bioenergy projects are very important. Development of bioenergy should be perceived as one of the most promising areas of renewable energy,” he said in an interview with the online portal Energy Reform.
He clarified that the relevant bill has already been agreed with the ministries of energy, digitalization, economy, as well as with the Ministry of Finance.
“The most important thing was to agree on the bill with the Ministry of Finance, because this Ministry is the least interested in it. But realizing the importance and correctness of this document, the Ministry of Finance agreed on it,” Shafarenko said, adding that exemption of bioenergy from the carbon tax is an international practice.
The agency plans to send the bill to the Ministry of Justice in the near future and after the conclusion is made by the agency – for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers, the expert said.
At the same time, Shafarenko highly appreciates the chances of this bill being approved by the Verkhovna Rada.
“I think the prospect of its adoption is very high. It does not have such opponents to be very against it,” he predicts.
At the same time, according to him, the exemption of bioenergy from paying the CO2 tax is extremely important, given the prospects for its significant increase.
“When this tax was 41 kopecks per tonne of CO2, it was an insignificant burden. Then the tax was raised to UAH 10 – already more, but it was still possible to put up, and this did not really restrain investors in the industry. But they want to increase it to UAH 30-60, and this will have a tangible effect on the development of bioenergy,” Shafarenko said.
