Ukraine is negotiating visa facilitation or the introduction of a visa-free regime with 22 countries, said Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin.
“As of today, we are conducting negotiations and consultations on further simplifying the visa regime, or on visa free travel with 22 countries. In the near future, in just a few months, negotiations will begin with several more countries,” Klimkin said at a press conference.
The minister noted that today citizens of Ukraine can visit 86 countries of the world without visas, of which 34 need a biometric passport.
Of the remaining 112 states, there is a simplified entry [e-visa or visa upon arrival] in 54 countries, and one need to obtain a visa at diplomatic or consular offices in another 58 countries, the Ukrainian foreign minister noted.
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
Ukraine in January-November 2018 imported 10.014 billion cubic meters of natural gas for a total of $3.015 billion, in particular in November some 1.012 billion cubic meters for $341.604 million, according to the State Statistics Service.
Thus, the average price of gas imported by the country in November 2018 was $337.5 per 1,000 cubic meters against $347.3 in October, $320 in September, $293.9 in August, $309.1 in July, $267.4 in June, $263.5 in May, $310.8 in April, $278.7 in March, $261.1 in February, and $279.4 in January.
In the 11 months of the last year, the main counterparties were companies from Switzerland with 3.679 billion cubic meters of gas worth $1.102 billion, Germany with 3.146 billion cubic meters for $929.324 million, Poland with 714.061 million cubic meters for $213.391 million, the UK with 629.451 million cubic meters for $186.219 million, and Hungary with 532.563 million cubic meters for $169.845 million.
There were no gas imports from the Russia for the specified period.
The TAS Group continues investing in industry, in particular, the group acquired a block stone quarry in Zhytomyr region, the press service of the group reported last week.
“Taking into account the active development of infrastructure projects in Ukraine, increase in the volume of road and housing construction, as well as other types of economic activity where natural stone is actively used, the TAS Group considers the extraction of nonmetallic materials to be quite a promising business and intends to continue to acquire new assets in this area,” TAS group Board Chairman Serhiy Popenko said.
According to the report, the entry of a natural stone mining company into the TAS Group complies with the group’s long-term development strategy and will contribute to strengthening its market position.
At the same time, the group did not specify the name of the acquired company and the location of the quarry.
The TAS Group was founded in 1998. It has assets in the financial and industrial sectors, agriculture, real estate, pharmaceuticals and venture projects. The financial sector of the group includes TAScombank, Universal Bank, VS Bank, two insurance companies and a number of other organizations. The founder and main shareholder of the group is Sergiy Tigipko.
