Ukraine and Saudi Arabia are working out a scheme for promising industrial cooperation under the program of the new An-132 light multi-purpose aircraft with a payload capacity of 9.2 tonnes, which was designed by the Kyiv-based Antonov State Enterprise and which will be mass-produced on the territory of the Saudi customer.
According to Antonov’s press service, the plans of industrial cooperation agreed upon by the parties, at the initial stage of the An-132 program, are stipulated in a memorandum of understanding signed by the enterprise with Saudi Arabia’s Taqnia Aeronautics and WAHAJ as part of the 4th AFED 2018 defense exhibition, which is taking place in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) from February 25 to March 3.
Taqnia Aeronautics acts as a division of the Saudi Technology Development and Investment Company, and WAHAJ is a subsidiary of the Saudi International Petrochemical Company (SIPCHEM).
According to the agreement of the parties, it is planned that at the initial stage of production the first batch of An-132s will be built at the facilities of the Antonov State Enterprise in cooperation with Saudi partners.
At the same time, Antonov will act as the main executor of the work, whereas Taqnia and WAHAJ will produce units and elements in accordance with a cooperation scheme. In particular, WAHAJ will produce chassis and equipment for the aircraft.
“Subsequent stages envisage the deepening of cooperation in the production of Antonov aircraft based on the strategic plan for the creation of production facilities in Saudi Arabia,” the report says.
The revenues of the national budget of Ukraine in February 2018 amounted to UAH 50.7 billion, which is UAH 13.967 billion, or 21.6% less than the planned figures, while revenues for the first two months of 2018 reached UAH 105.887 billion, which is UAH 12.386 billion, or 10.5%, less than the target.
According to data on the website of the State Treasury Service, compared to February 2017 national budget revenues for the past month increased by UAH 8.226 billion or 19.4%, while revenues in January-February 2018 were up by UAH 3.968 billion, or 3.9%.
Tax revenues for the two months of 2018 decreased by 6.2% compared to the same period in 2017, to UAH 66.877 billion, while customs revenues rose by 24.8%, to UAH 48.52 billion. At the same time, customs revenues in January-February 2018 exceeded the target by 2.7%.
In February tax revenues amounted to UAH 31.888 billion, which is 7.4% lower than the plan. Customs revenues in the past month grew by 13.3% compared to February last year, to UAH 23.398 billion.
In general, the February plan of the State Fiscal Service was 21.3%, or UAH 11.842 billion, underfulfilled, while compared to February last year the rise was UAH 5.659 billion, or 14.8%.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman and Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis have discussed the possibilities of investment and innovative cooperation in the agricultural sector and logistics.
“Among the important areas of innovative cooperation, the parties defined the agricultural sector and logistics, primarily in the context of using the Zubr train route that connects the ports of Illichivsk, Odesa and Yuzhny to the ports of Riga, Ventspils, Liepaja and Tallinn,” the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine said.
During the meeting, the prime ministers of Ukraine and Latvia also noted that the volume of mutual trade in goods and services increased by 27% last year with Ukraine’s surplus standing at $102.6 million. Trade turnover between the two countries totaled $462 million in 2017. The key items of Ukrainian exports to Latvia are mineral fuels, oil, boilers and machinery, organic goods, food, and metal. The items of imports are pharmaceuticals, light industry goods, and land transport.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted at first reading the government bill (No. 7466) on the effective management of property rights of rightholders in the field of copyright and related rights. According to an Interfax-Ukraine reporter, 244 MPs voted for such a decision at a plenary meeting of parliament on Thursday, March 1.
According to the explanatory note to the bill, this document, if approved, will help reform the collective management system in Ukraine, taking into account current requirements and establish the procedure for control over the activities of collective management organizations on the part of the subjects of copyright and related right and the state, if necessary.
“Such changes will help improve the management of property rights of the subjects of copyright and related rights, which will lead to an increase in fees for creators and will contribute to improving Ukraine’s image in the international arena,” the document says.
The explanatory note also says that the draft law was worked out as part of the plan on the implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.
The bill proposes establishing the procedure and requirements for the accreditation and registration of collective management organizations, especially the filling of the register of such organizations.
The authors of the legislative initiative propose resolving the issues of the collection, distribution and payment of remuneration by collective management organizations.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has organized a financing of EUR 25.9 million for Kness Group to build three solar power plants with a total installed capacity of 33.9 MW in Vinnytsia region, the press service of the bank has reported. The EBRD will provide EUR 18.5 million and Clean Technology Fund (CTF) will provide EUR 7.4 million. The technical assistance was provided under the EU4Business program.
Kness Group is a large Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. It has Podilsky Energoconsulting engineering company. The group sells inverter equipment, generation monitoring systems and pillars for solar panels manufactured in Ukraine.
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze says that Ukraine intends to study the opportunities for joining the Schengen zone in the long term.
“After the introduction of the visa-free regime with the EU, Ukraine intends to study the opportunities for accession to the Schengen area in the long term,” Klympush-Tsintsadze said at the opening of the fifth annual Eastern Partnership conference in Tallinn, Estonia, the press service of the deputy premier said on Friday.
Also, according to the deputy PM, Ukraine seeks to be actively involved in the implementation of the EU external investment plan. Separately, Klympush-Tsintsadze noted the need to introduce more advanced models of cooperation for associate partners after they make progress in the implementation of a comprehensive free trade area with the EU.
“The ‘Eastern Partnership Plus’ Initiative should receive a practical basis: the participating countries of the existing program prefer to access the “four EU freedoms,” namely, the freedom of movement of goods, services, people and capital,” she said.
Separately, Klympush-Tsintsadze raised the topic of cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in the energy sector, since the parties have long been strategic partners in this field. “We completely share the ideas of the Energy Union and we want to join it, which will promote competition in the domestic market, strengthen regional cooperation and improve energy security,” the deputy prime minister said.
