On May 23 in Kyiv, as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast, the Embassy organized a scientific and practical conference “Manas – Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”.
The diplomatic event was attended by the Minister of Culture of Ukraine R. Karandeev, 13 deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, representatives of the diplomatic corps, political and public figures, Ukrainian scientists in the field of Turkology/philology, representatives of universities in Kiev, representatives of the Kyrgyz diaspora. Also from the Kyrgyz side via videoconference took part the president of the State Institution “National Academy ‘Manas’ T.Bakchiev, the translator of the book – chairman of the Ukrainian Society ‘Bereginya’ in Kyrgyzstan V.Narozia and artist Z.Ilipov.
The conference was held in Kyrgyz-Ukrainian-English and discussed the influence of Manas on world culture. The participants were shown a video “Manas”, and there was also a presentation of Sayakbai Karalaev’s book “Kyrgyz Folk Epic Yer-Toshtyuk”, recently published in Ukrainian, which was published with funds from Ukrainian sponsors. The new book was presented to each conference participant as a gift.
Speakers discussed the influence of Kyrgyz culture on world literature and noted the importance of such an event for deepening Kyrgyz-Ukrainian cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
The diplomatic event was held at a high level and received a positive response from the participants.
The new books will be donated to universities and libraries in Ukraine.
The Kyrgyz Republic recognized the independence of Ukraine on December 20, 1991. On September 19, 1992 diplomatic relations were established. In 1993 the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic was opened in Kiev, and in 2000 the Embassy of Ukraine in Kyrgyzstan.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Portugal on Tuesday, May 28, according to the website of the President of Portugal.
It is noted that Zelensky will visit Portugal at the invitation of its President Marcelo Rebelo de Souza and Prime Minister Luiz Montenegro.
“President Zelenskyy’s working visit is part of a common intention to deepen relations between the two countries, with a particular focus on strengthening security and defense cooperation. It will also provide an opportunity to reaffirm Portugal’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as to maintaining political, military, financial and humanitarian support for Kyiv,” the statement said.
It is reported that the President of Ukraine will hold working meetings with Prime Minister Luiz Montenegro and President Marcelo Rebelo de Souza.
Spain will provide Ukraine with €1 billion in military aid in 2024 and another €5 billion within 3 years
As part of a bilateral security agreement, Spain will provide Ukraine with €1 billion in military aid in 2024 and €5 billion over three years, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
“…Under the agreement, Spain will provide Ukraine with €1 billion in military aid already this year and €5 billion over three years. The countries have also agreed to provide assistance in economic recovery, support Ukrainian reforms on the way to membership in the EU and NATO and the Formula for Peace, as well as strengthening sanctions against Russia,” the ministry said in a statement published in its Telegram channel on Monday.
As reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez signed in Madrid a bilateral agreement on cooperation in the field of security.
The article summarizes and analyzes the main macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine. In connection with the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of the Interests of Business Entities during Martial Law or a State of War”, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine suspends the publication of statistical information for the period of martial law, as well as for three months after its termination. The exception is the publication of information on the consumer price index, separate information on statistical indicators for 2021 and for the period January-February 2022. The article analyzes open data from the State Statistics Service, the National Bank, and think tanks.
Maksim Urakin, PhD in Economics, founder of the Experts Club think tank, presented an analysis of macroeconomic trends in Ukraine and the world based on official data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the NBU, the UN, the IMF, and the World Bank.
Macroeconomic indicators of Ukraine
Maksim Urakin cited the National Bank of Ukraine’s data on the improvement of the financial situation in 2023 compared to 2022 and the forecast for 2024.
“Optimistic forecasts for international financing, recovery of supply chains, seasonal business revival and growth in domestic demand, as well as slowing inflation, have contributed to positive expectations for economic stabilization in the near future. However, damaged energy infrastructure, rising logistics and labor costs, and a shortage of qualified personnel due to demographic factors remain constraining factors,” Urakin emphasized.
The expert noted that the risks to the economy also include a possible intensification of military operations in the summer and instability of international assistance.
“The baseline scenario for the macroeconomic situation in the country envisages further implementation of prudent monetary and fiscal policies with a focus on maintaining financial stability. Ukraine must consistently fulfill its obligations under cooperation programs with international partners, which will lead to an increase in the public debt to GDP ratio,” the economist said.
Global Economic Outlook
Maksim Urakin also analyzed the global economy, noting a slight improvement in the situation compared to the previous forecast.
“Global economic growth in 2024 may slightly exceed last year’s level, as countries such as India, China and the United States have picked up in recent months. However, the global economic recovery is still constrained by geopolitical conflicts, protectionist policies of major powers and persistent inflation,” the expert explained.
According to the expert, global GDP growth is likely to remain at 2.9% to 3.2% this year and will only slightly accelerate to 3.4% in 2025.
For Ukraine, the main challenges in the coming years will be the need to restore Ukraine after the war and manage the public debt.
Speaking about the war in the Middle East, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that official Kyiv supports the two-state policy.
“Regarding the war in the Middle East: we support the two-state policy,” Zelensky said at a press conference with the Spanish Prime Minister in Madrid.
The President of Ukraine also expressed his belief that the world today has enough power to stop “this bloodshed in the Middle East.”
Ukrainians have already lost more than 6.6 thousand phones in 4 months of 2024, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). For comparison, more than 29 thousand phones were stolen and lost in Ukraine last year. Most often, people lose XIAOMI, SAMSUNG, and IPHONE.
More than 6.6 thousand phones have been stolen and lost in Ukraine since the beginning of 2024. The number of smartphone thefts and losses is decreasing year on year: it is 2.5 times less than in the same period in 2021 and 1.3 times less than last year.
A total of 29,015 stolen and lost phones were recorded in 2023. This is almost half – 46% – less than before the start of the full-scale war.
The largest number of stolen or lost mobile phones this year was recorded in Kyiv – 790 cases (11.9% of the total). Dnipropetrovs’k region is in second place with 582 cases (8.8%), and Zaporizhzhia region ranks third with 566 cases (8.6%).
For comparison, in 2023, Donetsk region was the leader in the number of stolen or lost phones.
The top most popular phones among thieves have remained unchanged over the past three years: XIAOMI, SAMSUNG, and IPHONE. Thus, this year, more than 2.2 thousand XIAOMI phones (33.8% of the total), more than 1.4 thousand SAMSUNG phones (21.6%), and a little less than a thousand IPHONE phones (14.2%) have already been stolen or lost.
We decided to compare which smartphone brands are the most popular among thieves and customers. So, according to the Comfy chain of home appliance and electronics stores, it turned out that the most popular phone brands among buyers for three years in a row are the same brands, but in a different order of popularity: IPHONE, SAMSUNG and XIAOMI/REDMI.
