Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus signed an agreement on a free trade zone between the countries.
The agreement was signed in Kyiv on Thursday in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the results of negotiations between the parties.
It is expected that the agreement on a Free trade area between the countries will bring an additional 2% of GDP annually.
Ukraine’s revenue from export of grain crops in 2021 amounted to $12.3 billion, the largest trading partners were China, which imported $2.55 billion, as well as Egypt ($1.39 billion) and Turkey ($0.92 billion), the Institute of Agrarian Economics (IAE) reported on its website on Thursday.
“2021 was characterized by the further strengthening of the position of China, which in 2020 for the first time took the top among 10 largest importers of Ukrainian grain. In four years, starting from 2018, this country has increased its grain purchases from Ukraine almost five times, to $2.55 billion. At the same time, China’s share in the value of domestic grain exports increased from 19.7% in 2020 to 20.7% in 2021,” the IAE said, citing expert Bohdan Dukhnitsky.
According to the IAE, last year Egypt increased imports of Ukrainian grains by 24%, from $1.12 billion to $1.37 billion, but its share of their total exports decreased from 11.9% to 11.2%.
“Turkey, which in 2020 ranked only sixth in the top 10, moved up to the third spot last year, increasing the value of purchases of Ukrainian grain to $0.92 billion. In addition, in 2021, there were changes in the top 10 largest buyers of grain from Ukraine: Iran and Pakistan pushed South Korea and Bangladesh out of the top 10,” the expert said in the IAE report.
Other major grain importers from Ukraine were Indonesia with $750 million, Spain with $645 million, the Netherlands with $552 million, Iran with $533 million, Pakistan with $355 million, Libya with $342 million and Tunisia with $306 million.
The IAE said that in total, these 10 countries had dominated in the value of all grain purchases in Ukraine in 2021 (their share was more than two thirds).
As reported, since the beginning of 2021/22 (July-June) and as of February 2, Ukraine exported 38.63 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops (31.6% more compared to the same date of the previous year), including 17.08 million tonnes of wheat (30.4% more), 15.64 million tonnes of corn (32.6% more), 5.48 million tonnes of barley (38.7% more), 0.16 million tons rye (92 times more), 63,800 tonnes of flour (27.0% less).
Kyiv City State Administration has implemented a project to build a city backbone network and infrastructure for the implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology.
According to Kyiv City State Administration, with reference to the chief digital transformationofficer of Kyiv (CDTO) Petro Olenych, this will allow monitoring the state of the environment, controlling the microclimate in schools or hospitals and improving the efficiency of public services.
“A smart city is impossible without the introduction of the Internet of Things technologies: traditional infrastructure, a network of connected sensors and a control system. Already, Kyiv is covered with a network for collecting and analyzing data – 295 base stations operate in all districts of the city for this. The next step is to install sensors on locations and information analysis,” he said.
Thanks to the LoRaWAN wireless communication technology, sensors can be used to obtain data with maximum energy efficiency, Oleh Polovinko, the director of the department of information and communication technologies of Kyiv City State Administration, explained.
It is planned that the sensors will be installed on gas pipelines, water pipes, electrical panels, etc.
One of the examples of the implementation of IoT in the city is “smart waste bins”.
“Sensors on the tanks will inform about the possible ignition of a fire in the container, display and predict the fullness using an ultrasonic signal. When the tank is full, the utilities will be notified about the need for garbage collection.
“What are the direct effects of these decisions on this example? Processes are becoming more economical: we do not drive a garbage truck around the city, but we can optimally build a route, saving both fuel and driver time,” he emphasized.
As reported, the mobile operator lifecell, together with the Internet of Things network operator using the LoRaWAN technology, the IoT Ukraine company and the integrator company Smart Eco Logic, launched a project of water supply account for Lutskvodokanal.
President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, at the invitation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, has arrived in Kyiv to attend the tenth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Council.
“We are in Kyiv at the invitation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to attend the tenth meeting of the High Level Strategic Council. I hope that the meetings will lead to favorable results for both the countries and the region,” Erdoğan said on Twitter on Thursday.
He said that in recent years, Turkey has made significant progress in relations with Ukraine in trade, investment, tourism and defense industry.
“We are striving to achieve our goal of $10 billion in trade volume. We will soon achieve this goal due to the Free Trade Agreement that we will sign,” the Turkish president said.
According to him, Turkey is closely following “the challenges faced by Ukraine, and tensions in the region.” Thus, he called on all sides to dialogue to maintain peace in the region.
“It is clear that the conflict must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law. Turkey is ready to contribute to maintaining peace and security in its region,” he said.
On January 31, this year, Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture hosted a ceremony of signing a landmark memorandum of cooperation between the International Technology Transfer Association (ITTA) headed by Artem Honcharenko, Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture led by rector Petro Kulikov, and the State Fund for Youth Housing run by Serhiy Komnatnyi and I-Dolina headed by Chairman of the Board Alexander Teplyuk.
This document defines cooperation in the following areas:
– implementation of priority tasks for Ukrainian education and civil society;
– conducting joint events (seminars, pieces of training, lectures, conferences, etc.) and outreach;
– development and implementation of training and information programs and courses, various projects aimed at improving education;
– digitalization of educational processes in the field of construction and implementation of new information technologies;
– development and implementation of joint programs for the development and support of the creative industry.
Today, in science, education, manufacturing, trade, etc., global changes are taking place, which modern society cannot abandon, seeking to reap the maximum benefits from existing technologies and innovations.
Digitalization has become a mandatory tool that allows Ukraine to move alongside leaders in the world economy.
Ignorance and inability to use modern information technology, lack of professional staff can stop, and after some time, lead to the decline of the country’s economy.
According to experts, by 2030, the global professional imbalance will exceed 1.4 billion people, and, accordingly, the losses of the world economy will reach 5 trillion dollars.
Therefore, the creation of the latest programs on the development of innovative educational resources will provide an opportunity not only not to prevent losing existing potential but to become a global leader in this regard.
It is no secret today that Ukraine is a leader regarding the quality and number of IT specialists, and revenues to the country’s budget from this industry are increasing every year.
Therefore, the coalition of Kyiv National University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, namely its educational base, innovative approaches, and professionals of the International Technology Transfer Association (ITTA), International Creative Center I-Dolina, and the State Fund for Youth Housing, will support several activities to be developed. Projects are designed to provide both Ukraine and other countries with modern personnel in construction and architecture.
“We have previously cooperated with the State Fund for Youth Housing, and from today this cooperation will be even deeper and more valuable for all of us, and especially for the staff of our university,” – rector Petro Kulikov.
In turn, Artem Honcharenko, President of the International Technology Transfer Association (ITTA), drew attention to the possibility of using world experience in government programs to support and attract foreign investors, providing them with favorable conditions. Experts of the association will help develop these areas and increase the number of attracted investments.
Serhiy Oleksandrovych Komnatnyi reaffirmed that the State Fund for Youth Housing is an organization engaged in the practical implementation of housing policy and has all the opportunities to support young people who need state support at the initial stage of their personal and professional development.
International Creative Center I-Dolina is an organization that unites the creative industry of our country, as well as actively supports the practicalization of digitalization in Ukraine; it considers the signing of this memorandum as one of the essential steps to develop support our education new technologies – said Alexander Teplyuk.
In the end, events in the construction field were announced, which will take place on February 10 this year. The Kyiv National University of Civil Engineering and Architecture will host International Conference Construction, Innovation, Technology, Investment.
