The Norwegian government is allocating an additional 200 million Norwegian kroner (about $18.5 million at the current exchange rate) for humanitarian demining in Ukraine, Norwegian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson has said.
“Since 2015, Norway has provided EUR 15 million in assistance through non-governmental organizations. Today, we are increasing our contribution by another 200 million kroner in additional demining assistance,” he said at the High Level International Donor Conference on Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine in Zagreb on Wednesday.
Vad Petersson also called for compliance with the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, adopted 25 years ago, expressing hope that Croatia would join it.
A statement on the Norwegian government’s website on Wednesday said that the widespread use of mines and cluster munitions in Ukraine has made it the most mined country in the world today, and that Norway will more than double its support for efforts to clear mines laid in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s brutal aggressive war.
It is noted that about 30% of Ukraine’s territory is currently littered with mines and unexploded ordnance, and demining is vital for Ukrainian farmers to grow crops.
“Russia’s military aggression on the territory of Ukraine affects not only Ukraine. It threatens food security around the world,” Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in the release.
It is specified that Norway has previously provided NOK 164 million for demining activities since Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022. The additional funds allocated under the Nansen Support Program for Ukraine will be channelled through existing demining organizations, including Norwegian People’s Aid, HALO Trust and the UN system.
Norway recalls that it has already provided more than NOK 4.5 billion in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and assistance to refugees in neighboring countries.
Earlier at the conference, Croatia, which organized the donor conference, announced the allocation of additional funding of EUR 5 million for humanitarian demining in Ukraine. Several other countries, including Spain, Slovakia, and Slovenia, announced at the conference that they would allocate additional funds for this purpose, but in these cases, the amounts were in the range of EUR0.5 million to EUR1.5 million.
According to a study conducted by the World Bank, the Ukrainian government, the European Commission, and the UN, the cost of humanitarian demining in the year after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion was estimated at more than EUR34 billion out of the total cost of reconstruction and recovery of EUR383 billion. At the same time, the full extent of the contamination remains unclear due to the ongoing hostilities and occupation of the territory.
Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solsky and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark Jakob Jensen have signed a memorandum of understanding between the agriculture ministries of the two countries, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy reported.
“The signing of the memorandum is aimed at long-term strategic cooperation to improve the efficiency and sustainability of food production and agriculture,” the statement said.
According to the document, the parties will exchange information and experience in the field of green transition of agriculture and food systems, including joint policies and climate solutions; in the field of food safety and food security.
Ukraine and Denmark are also interested in the prospects of livestock development, including management, animal welfare, animal health, animal breeding, feed and organic farming.
Ukraine and Denmark will set up a joint working group to identify areas of cooperation.
Solsky thanked the Danish government for its support and assistance. According to him, Danish farmers have been successfully developing their business in Ukraine for the past 15 years. They are not deterred by the war in Ukraine.
“Denmark is one of the examples of agriculture in Europe and the world of how to be efficient and profitable. And an example of very high technology. We are interested in investments and in a greater presence of Danes in Ukrainian business. This is a good experience, an extremely high-quality approach, something we would like to learn from, something we want to follow,” the Ukrainian minister emphasized.
In turn, Jensen expressed confidence in the effectiveness of cooperation with Ukraine in the agricultural sector.
The total amount of pledges to help Ukraine with humanitarian demining, confirmed on Wednesday by participants of the first such special high-level international donor conference in Zagreb, is almost EUR0.5 billion, said Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović.
“The 34 participating states expressed their clear political support for Ukraine in the field of mine action and maintained their political commitments… The total amount of these contributions is almost EUR0.5 billion,” he said at a briefing after the first day of the conference.
According to him, additional contributions have been and will be made in the form of equipment, materials and expert assistance.
“Some countries have also made commitments that will be implemented in cooperation with international organizations, such as the United Nations Development Program,” Bozhynovych added.
He emphasized that the conference made it clear that Ukraine’s partners will join forces and act together at the national, European and international levels to identify as soon as possible the threats to the status quo posed by mines and explosive remnants of war.
“We emphasize the importance of using the most modern technologies, knowledge and experience, fully realizing that this is vital for the safety of Ukrainian citizens, as well as for the economic, social, environmental and all other aspects of post-war recovery and development of Ukraine,” said the Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Croatian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
He reminded that the EU Council is currently discussing a 4-year EUR 50 billion Ukraine Facility program to help Ukraine, and once approved, it will be very important to allocate part of these funds for demining.
“We hope that the conference that took place today confirmed these expectations and that it will be properly reflected in the upcoming rounds of negotiations in the Council and approved by the European Commission,” added Bozhynovych.
He also welcomed Switzerland’s announcement to organize, as a follow-up to the Zagreb event, the next international donor conference on humanitarian demining in Ukraine next October in Geneva.
On Thursday, the second day of the conference, there will be an expert discussion of detailed demining measures and activities in Ukraine.
According to a study conducted by the World Bank, the Ukrainian government, the European Commission and the UN, the cost of humanitarian demining in the year after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion was estimated at over EUR34 billion out of the total cost of reconstruction and recovery of EUR383 billion. At the same time, the full extent of the contamination remains unclear due to the ongoing hostilities and occupation of the territory.
In the spring, the Ukrainian government estimated the priority funding needs for humanitarian demining this year at $400 million.
The Hungarian government has removed cane and beet sugar from the list of banned Ukrainian products for import after September 15, 2023, Agroinform.hu reported.
According to the report, the Hungarian government’s resolution on measures related to the transportation of certain agricultural products from Ukraine, which restricted the import of 24 Ukrainian agricultural products after September 15, removed the line referring to cane and beet sugar, as well as hard sucrose.
The decision came into force on October 10.
As reported, the European Commission announced on September 15 that it would not extend restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine to five neighboring EU countries (Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia) with some conditions to avoid a new surge in supplies.
The restrictions were imposed on May 2, 2023 and concerned imports of wheat, rapeseed, sunflower and corn. These five Eastern European member states argued that Ukrainian agricultural products, when imported duty-free into the EU, were settling with them and harming the local agribusiness sector.
After the restrictions were lifted, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia introduced unilateral bans. Poland expanded the list of products banned for import with rapeseed cake and meal, as well as corn bran, wheat flour and derivatives. Hungary brought the list to 24 commodity items.
Ukraine has filed a lawsuit with the WTO, accusing Poland, Hungary and Slovakia of discriminating against its agro-products.
Ukraine is currently negotiating the introduction of a licensing mechanism for exports of Ukrainian agro-commodities with mandatory verification in each of the five countries.
Employees of the territorial department of the Bureau of Economic Security (BES) in Lviv region exposed a scheme for the illegal production and sale of alcoholic beverages in Ternopil and Lviv regions, the press service of the BES regional office reports.
“The investigation revealed the location of warehouses with vodka and cognac. The alcoholic beverages were delivered to one of the enterprises in Lviv, which distributed counterfeit alcohol through retail stores,” the statement said.
Counterfeit alcohol was distributed in a network of more than 300 stores.
“During the searches in Ternopil, about 61 thousand liters of liquid with the smell of alcohol and an alcohol production line were seized,” the BES reports.
At the same time, law enforcement officers seized more than 46 thousand liters of counterfeit alcohol, as well as containers and equipment for packaging alcoholic beverages, and financial and business documents at the company’s premises in Lviv region.
“According to the decision of the Lychakiv District Court of Lviv, the seized property worth more than UAH 26 million was seized,” the statement said.
On October 12, 2023, the ninth Kyiv International Economic Forum, an annual event that brings together representatives of the Ukrainian government, business, and society for open dialogue, exchange of experience, creation of a space of trust, and effective strategies for economic development, will take place.
For the second time, the forum will be held in Kyiv under martial law. The theme of this year’s KIEF is “People. Business. Economy. The Price of Freedom”.
Key topics of KIEF 2023:
“In times of the most difficult historical challenge for the country, its economy, business, society, and for each of us personally, we must unite, combine our efforts and experience to make complex, bold, and pragmatic decisions. The goal is to become co-authors not only of the Victory, but also of the future of an independent, innovative, and prosperous Ukraine that our descendants will be proud of. It all depends on us,” commented Vasyl Khmelnytsky, initiator of the forum and founder of UFuture holding.
70+ speakers will share their experience and vision, including:
“Last year, we discussed the topic of restoring the Ukrainian economy after the victory. But life turned out to be much more complicated and the challenges much more serious. KIEF 2023 is dedicated to finding solutions to the most pressing ones that need to be addressed here and now. The high price of Ukraine’s freedom and independence must be justified. This is a task for each of us,” said Yuriy Pyvovarov, CEO of the Kyiv International Economic Forum.
“Despite the war, Ukrainian business continues to operate, supporting the army and humanitarian initiatives. This year’s KIEF is an opportunity to discuss the problems, solutions and tools for integrating veterans into civilian life. It is an opportunity to share experience of doing business during the war and join forces on the way to victory. An opportunity to record our achievements and plan the next steps. This is a crucial event where Superhumans Center has a platform for a joint discussion on how to build a new social contract between people returning from war and business,” said Olga Rudneva, CEO of Superhumans Center.
As part of the event, each participant will be able to contribute to the support of the Superhumans Center for Rehabilitation, Prosthetics and Reconstructive Surgery. The proceeds from the registration fees will be used to rehabilitate Ukrainians affected by the war.
On the day of the event, the KIEF YouTube channel will broadcast the event via the link.
The innovative partner of the event and the exclusive partner of the online broadcast is Mastercard.
Strategic partner: UFuture.
Title partners: Nova Poshta; AJAX; Biopharma; Naftogaz; Federation of Employers of the Oil and Gas Industry; Smart-Holding.
Partners: Kyivstar, AEQUO, Dynasty Investment Group, Interpipe, Epicenter, MHP, Biosphere, PUMB, QP, Neqsol Holding, PrivatBank, DTEK, CEO Club, Work.ua, Superhumans Center, All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program “How are you?”, NGO “Bezbarernist”, Osvitoria.
Analytical partner: Gradus.
Title media partners: Starlight Media, 1+1 Media.
Official media partner of the Forum: Interfax-Ukraine.
Media partners: We Are Ukraine, Delo, The Page, Mind, The Kyiv Independent, TAVR media, Huxley.
We believe that our victory, our recovery and economic development is our choice and our business.
Join the change on October 12.
For more information about the event and conditions of participation, please follow the link.
Kyiv International Economic Forum 2023
People. Business. Economy
The price of freedom
