Ukraine is open to negotiations on trade liberalization with Serbia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Deputy Minister of Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture, Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka has said.
“We have a free trade area with part of the region’s countries through the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. We have bilateral free trade area agreements with North Macedonia and Montenegro. And we are always open to talks about trade liberalization with Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania,” the trade representative wrote on Facebook.
French President Emmanuel Macron may visit Ukraine by the end of the first half of the year, said French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins.
“We do not have a date at the moment because of the pandemic. President Macron does not travel at the moment. He did not leave France since mid-December now. His last visit was to Brussels, not a bilateral one and not very far. I want to be very prudent, but my expectation is that this visit could occur by the end of the first semester,” the ambassador said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
De Poncins pointed out that there is a great need for this visit, since the last French president who officially visit Ukraine was Jacques Chirac in 1998.
“The principle of a visit is agreed, for as I have said there is a very good relationship between the two presidents and President Macron is very keen to come. President Zelenskyy confirmed several times the invitation. There is a lack of visits at the highest level between our two countries. The last French President who officially visited Ukraine was Jacques Chirac, in 1998. It was a very long time ago. Therefore, there’s a need for it. And there is a lot of substance for such a high level visit,” he stressed.
The ambassador noted that the visit will focus on bilateral programs, as well as the political dimension.
“About the substance, there will be a lot to focus on. There are some very important bilateral programs: helicopters, patrol boats, locomotives, water plant facilities in Mariupol. We have some other projects in Luhansk area. This is just for economy. The cultural, scientific, university and linguistic part is a big one too. I can tell you that if President Macron comes, he will be overloaded with projects and programs. Political dimension will obviously also be at the core of a presidential visit,” de Poncins said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez discussed areas of cooperation between the countries, including energy, infrastructure, digitalization and cybersecurity.
“Energy, infrastructure, digitalization, cybersecurity – there are many areas in Ukraine for cooperation with Spain. I am glad to speak with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, our mutual understanding is a step towards warm and effective relations between the two countries. I wish you health! I will be glad to see you in Ukraine!” Zelensky wrote on his Twitter page.
The interlocutors noted the importance of holding the fourth meeting of the Ukrainian-Spanish Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic and Industrial Cooperation this year in Kyiv, the presidential press service reported.
The leaders also discussed the development of trade and economic cooperation between the two states.
“Spain is one of Ukraine’s main trading partners in the European Union and maintains its position as Europe’s largest importer of Ukrainian grain. We are ready to continue being a reliable strategic supplier of grain products to Spain,” the Ukrainian President said.
The Spanish Prime Minister said that he would assist Ukraine in obtaining the vaccine both at the level of bilateral relations and at the EU level.
In addition, particular attention was paid to the signing of the Common Aviation Area Agreement between the European Union with Ukraine. “I am grateful to the Spanish party for its efforts and willingness to facilitate the signing of this long-awaited and mutually beneficial agreement. I expect a positive decision from the EU in the coming weeks,” Zelensky said.
In Ukraine, as of Monday morning, 2,030 new cases of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 were recorded, with 5,131 people reported as recovered, and 61 patients died, said Minister of Health of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov.
“Some 2,030 new cases of coronavirus disease COVID-19 were recorded in Ukraine as of February 1, 2021. In particular, 71 children and 65 health workers fell ill. Also, over the past day, 1,103 people have been hospitalized, 61 deaths have been recorded, and 5,131 people recovered,” wrote Stepanov on his Facebook page on Monday morning.
The opening of the first five-star Sheraton hotel in Kyiv is scheduled for 2021.
“In 2021, Sheraton Hotels will continue on its transformation journey, with the brand expecting to showcase new guest experience programs and complete renovations in locations including Nashville, the United States; Toronto, Canada; Nice, France; Kyiv, Ukraine; and Xi’an, China,” according to a press release posted on January 28 by PRNewswire.
As reported, earlier in September 2020, the Board of Directors of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) approved the allocation of $27 million for building Sheraton Hotel in Kyiv.
The construction of the five-star Sheraton Kyiv Olympiysky hotel in the territory of the Olympiysky Stadium is being carried out by Construction Investment Company TM, which signed a hotel management agreement with the hotel operator Marriott Hotels & Resort.
According to the company’s website, Sheraton Kyiv Olympiysky is a 14-storey building with 196 rooms, 178 of which are standard rooms and deluxe rooms, 15 luxury rooms, two rooms for people with disabilities and one presidential room. The infrastructure includes an underground parking for 144 cars.
Construction Investment Company TM was founded in 2004, and its core business is construction of residential and non-residential buildings.
According to the unified public register, the founders of the company as of January 2021 were Telmox Limited LLC (50.5%), Wayall Limited LLC (35.5%) and Ihor Tarasulov (14%).
The charter capital is UAH 5 million.
In 2020, Ukraine exported fruit and berry products worth $238 million, which is 8% less than a year earlier, and is associated with quarantine restrictions and complication of customs procedures at the borders, the Ukrainian Agricultural Export Association (UAEA) reported on Friday.
According to the association, 92% of total exports were frozen fruits and berries ($111 million), walnuts in shell and without shell ($ 98 million), as well as apples and pears ($10 million).
According to the association, in kind, the export of walnuts decreased 41.2%, to 39,000 tonnes, and apples and pears – 64.3%, to 19,000 tonnes, at the same time, the export of frozen fruits was the maximum for the period of independence of Ukraine reaching 55,000 tonnes.
The UAEA reported that sales of Ukrainian fruits, berries and nuts to the EU countries in 2020 provided 77% of the total revenue from these products. Most of these products were bought by Poland ($57.7 million), France ($19.7 million), Germany ($17.2 million), the Netherlands ($11.6 million), Italy ($11.5 million), Austria ($11.2 million), the Czech Republic ($9.6 million) and Greece ($9.5 million). Turkey ($10.5 million) and Belarus ($9.2 million) are other major trading partners.
The association said that the average price of Ukrainian apples in 2020 grew by 1.5 times, to $500 per tonne, frozen fruits and berries – by 13.6%, to $2,023 per tonne, and shelled walnuts – by 5.1%, to $3,000 per tonne.
