During the first telephone conversation, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau agreed to begin negotiations in the near future on expanding the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Ukraine and Canada in the sphere of services and investments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported.
“The ministers discussed the intensification of interaction between Ukraine and Canada in the political, security, defense, trade, investment and migration spheres,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Kuleba also expressed gratitude for the work of the Canadian UNIFIER training mission in Ukraine. “Canada, with actions, not just words helps strengthen the security and defense sector of Ukraine. The Canadian instructors of the UNIFIER mission share important experiences and practices for transforming our armed forces in accordance with NATO standards. This is an example of cooperation between close partners,” the press service of the foreign policy department quoted the minister as saying.
The ministers welcomed the launch of the Ukrainian-Canadian working group on mobility issues to strengthen interpersonal ties. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister proposed to hold its first meeting next month and confirmed the interest of the Ukrainian side in concluding a bilateral agreement on youth exchanges.
“Kuleba informed the interlocutor about the priorities of the Crimean platform as a platform for consolidating international efforts to de-occupy Crimea and invited the Canadian side to take part in its inaugural summit this year. Garneau assured that Canada will continue to steadily support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported.
The ministers paid special attention to the topic of countering the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination of the population.
In addition, Kuleba and Garneau stressed the importance of coordinating further actions and forming common positions in preparation for the next stage of negotiations with Iran to bring to justice those responsible for the downing of Flight PS752 and to achieve justice for the victims of the tragedy and their families.
Finally, the interlocutors confirmed a mutual invitation to carry out working visits after the normalization of the epidemic situation.
Ratio of fertility and mortality by region as of Jan-Nov, 2020.
SSC of Ukraine
Interpipe, a Ukrainian industrial company, and Mubadala, the state investment fund of the government of Abu Dhabi, signed a memorandum of understanding on February 14, 2021.
Interpipe reported on Facebook the memorandum was signed during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the United Arab Emirates. On behalf of the company, the document was signed by First Deputy CEO Denys Morozov.
At the same time, it is noted that Interpipe has long been present in the Middle East markets.
“Every second building in Abu Dhabi was built with our pipes. Moreover, during the global crisis last year, this particular region showed growth, and the demand for steel pipes was maintained at a high level. This allowed us to start cooperation and ship the first pipe products to the address of one of the flagships of the world oil and gas business – National Oil Company of Abu Dhabi ADNOC,” the group said.
Interpipe is a Ukrainian industrial company, a manufacturer of seamless pipes and railway wheels. Products are supplied to more than 80 countries around the world through a network of sales offices located in the key markets of the CIS, the Middle East, North America and Europe.
Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19) has been submitted for registration in Ukraine under the obligation for emergency medical use.
According to the Center for Public Health website, an application for registration was submitted to the State Expert Center of the Health Ministry on Monday, February 15.
On the same day, WHO approved the AstraZeneca emergency vaccine and gave the green light for use of this vaccine worldwide through the COVAX initiative. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has previously been approved for emergency use in the UK, European Union and India.
The vaccine will be purchased for public funds directly from manufacturers. It is expected that at least 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be supplied to Ukraine in February 2021.
As reported, Ukraine received information from COVAX on the supply of vaccines from the manufacturer Oxford/AstraZeneca in the amount of 2.2 to 3.7 million doses in the first or second quarter of 2021.
On February, 20 and 21 in Ancient Kyiv in the Principality of Kyivan Rus («Kyivan Rus Park») an interactive entertaining program «Sky Horses» will take place. The acquaintance with horses of ancient breeds, master-classes on horse care, Slavic games and round dances, tasty dishes from the bonfire will be waiting for the guests… And all of this in a real medieval city!
Having entered the gates of the Principality, the visitors will make a time travel for a thousand years ago and will find themselves in the capital of Kyivan Rus. The guests will get into the historical center of medieval Kyiv of the Xth century within the boundaries of the Dytynetz of Kyiv and Predhraddya.
Only in Ancient Kyiv you can see such masterpieces of medieval architecture as: the monumental defensive structure «Zaborola» (about 300 meters long), Mickle`s Gate (21 meters high), princely terems and tribunes, watchtowers, the estates of the Kyiv residents of the X-XIІth centuries and many more. The unique Christian church of the Хth century, the wooden Basyl`s church, has been recreated here.
On the territory of Ancient Kyiv, the guests will visit historical expositions of siege technique, shipbuilding and even medieval torture.
On February, 20 and 21, the residents of the Principality will warmly welcome dear guests at the entrance gate and will not let you get bored even for a minute. After all, they have prepared an unusual entertainment program, in which the main role will be assigned to the horses of rare ancient breeds.
The guests will be told about the origin of the breeds, their characteristics, about which outstanding historical personalities owned the representatives of that or other breed and even tell legends about them. The experienced instructors will hold open master-classes on horse training and care, where they will tell you how to care after these animals so that they are not only healthy and obedient, but also become true friends.
Every visitor will be able to approach the horses, palm them, make a bright photo session and even ride on a horseback or in a carriage.
Ancient equestrian martial arts traditional for Ukraine come to life in Ancient Kyiv: trick riding and horseback archery. All the willing ones can learn the ancient martial art of horseback archery by themselves, having enrolled in the school of horseback archers «Prince Volodymyr». It is very easy to become its participant: you need to address to the organizers in Ancient Kyiv or contact by phone. (044) 461-99-37 and (050) 385-20-35. From the very first lesson, you will start to comprehend the art of controlling a horse and precise bow shooting. Join the fighting traditions of our ancestors!
Also, the guests will be invited to take part in merry ancient Slavic amusements: mobile games, dance master-classes, flash mobs and round dances.
In Ancient Kyiv, everyone will find an activity to his liking. Walking along the old streets, you can learn a lot of new and interesting things about the life of our ancestors. Here you can see signs with inscriptions in Old Slavonic, try to read and understand them. Visiting the magician-fortune teller, you can touch the ancient secret knowledge over a cup of aromatic herbal tea. In the medieval shooting range you can learn how to toss axes at the target, and in the medieval shop – choose original handmade souvenirs. The fans of extreme sports will be delighted by the «Zmiy Gorynych» speed slide and the «Politaylo» rope descent.
You can warm up and recuperate in the warm Princely tavern. Here you can taste hot drinks and dishes prepared on an open fire, both according to medieval and modern recipes.
If you want to extend your journey into the Middle Ages for another day, you can stay overnight in comfortable rooms (by previous booking).
The program may change.
A visit to Ancient Kiev has to be in accordance with the requirements of the quarantine regime.
Ancient Kyiv is in a 34 minutes` travel from modern Kyiv – Kyiv region, Obukhiv district, vill. Kopachiv.
You can get by your own car or public transport. The schedule of route taxis can be found on the «Obukhivtrans» website or on the «Kyivan Rus Park» website in the «Contacts» section
The best way with your own car is through the town of Obukhiv, which is indicated on the Principality’s website in the «Contacts» section. GPS-navigators often indicate a worse road not through Obukhiv, it is not recommended to follow it due to weather conditions.
The ticket price: a full adult ticket – 200 UAH, for pensioners and students – 150 UAH, for schoolchildren – 80 UAH, for preschool children – for free.
Details on the website www.parkkyivrus.com
The Interfax subscribers can save money with the “openbusiness-20” promo code for a 20%-discount for a full price adult ticket to the Principality of Kyivan Rus:
– by previous order by tel.: +38 044 461-99-37, +38 050 385-20-35
– or at the cash desk at the entrance to the «Kyivan Rus Park».
The enterprise with foreign investment (FDI) McDonald’s Ukraine Ltd. (Kyiv), which is developing the U.S. fast food chain McDonald’s in Ukraine, plans to expand a pilot program for sorting waste in restaurant halls to the entire chain in Ukraine by the end of 2021.
According to the company’s press release, the pilot program was launched in September 2020 at 16 restaurants in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Kyiv region. Special sorting stations were installed in the restaurant halls to separate waste by type. The sorted waste was sent for recycling of raw materials.
According to the company, in four months of the pilot program, more than 80 tonnes of packaging were sorted and transferred for processing. In general, more than 2.6 million Ukrainians have joined the program.
In addition, earlier in September 2020, the company replaced plastic containers for salads with paper packaging, in June it replaced plastic cups for cold drinks with cellulose cups recyclable in Ukraine, the press service recalls.
“By 2025, McDonald’s globally plans to completely switch to the production of all packaging materials from renewable certified raw materials, as well as raw materials that can be reused. Thus, polyethylene and plastic can be used to make garbage bags, and other waste will get a second life after recycling,” the press service said.
The first McDonald’s in Ukraine was opened in Kyiv on May 24, 1997. The McDonald’s restaurant chain in Ukraine has 96 restaurants in 20 cities.
According to many nutritional experts, eating fast food can lead to health problems, watch an expert review of the topic on the Expert Club YouTube channel.
