Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his working visit to Japan met with top managers of the Japan Association of New Economy (JANE) and said that the IT sector is one of the most dynamically developing in Ukraine. Zelensky also shared plans to develop it.
“We plan to develop innovative infrastructure by opening business incubators, accelerators and innovative platforms, opening landmark R&D centers of global corporations, creating innovative or startup platforms in higher education institutions,” the press service of the Office of the President said on Wednesday morning, citing Zelensky.
According to the report, Japanese businessmen became interested in the State in the Smartphone project. Zelensky said that the digitalization reform is under his personal control.
The head of state also announced Ukraine’s desire to create a competitive IT product.
“In the Western world, our IT specialists are perceived as cheap labor. It is important for us to change this. We want to create IT products and sell them in the world,” he said.
Representatives of the association told the President of Ukraine about examples of successful innovative projects for the use of artificial intelligence in Japan, which have already proved their effectiveness in various fields of life. It is about tourism, entertainment and cybersecurity.
Ireland’s low cost Ryanair to launch flights from Kherson to Vienna
Ireland’s low cost airline Ryanair (Dublin) from March 30, 2020 will launch direct flights from Kherson to Vienna (Austria).
In the airline’s booking system, the start of flights is announced on March 30.
Kherson-Vienna flights will be operated twice a week – on Mondays, departure from Kherson at 18:15 and on Fridays with departure at 21:50.
Travel time is 2 hours and 5 minutes.
The flights will be served by subsidiary of Ryanair – Lauda (formerly Laudamotion).
As reported, earlier Ryanair announced the start of flights from Kherson to Krakow (Poland).
Kherson became the fifth city in Ukraine, where the Irish low-cost airline operates.
In 2020, Ryanair intends to increase passenger traffic on Ukrainian flights by 33% to more than 2.1 million people.
The crisis in Ukraine and around Ukraine is the key problem of security on the European continent, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák said in an interview for the Faces of Peace project.
“The number of casualties we have seen in eastern Ukraine in the past five years is higher than anything we have seen elsewhere in Europe this century,” he said.
Lajčák said the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission (SMM), which is made up of more than 1,300 members, has done extremely important work since it was deployed in Ukraine during the spring of 2014.
“Our monitors are in the field observing and reporting on ceasefire violations, monitoring the latest developments and the hardship faced by people,” he said.
Lajčák evaluated the current situation in eastern Ukraine, noting that the ceasefire agreement starting on July 21, 2019, was a positive development leading to a significant decrease in the number of casualties among the civilian population and ceasefire violations.
“Nevertheless, unfortunately recently (As at October 11, 2019) there were days when there were more ceasefire violations than before recommitment,” he said.
Lajčák focused attention on the fact that “positive dynamics between Russia and Ukraine led to the exchange of prisoners” and noted important steps in taken under the aegis of the Trilateral Contact Group on regulating the situation in Donbas, where the sides agreed to the process of withdrawing forces and the so-called Steinmeier Formula. He also noted repair work done to help people crossing the bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska.
Lajčák expressed the hope that there would soon be a summit of Normandy Four leaders (Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia).
“There have been very good discussions within the Normandy Format that will, I hope, lead to a long-awaited Summit of the Normandy Four leaders,” he said.
Slovakia has had the rotating chairmanship of the OSCE since January 1, 2019, when Lajčák became Chairperson-in-Office. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has invited him to jointly visit Stanytsia Luhanska and inspect infrastructure repairs there.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved the provision of a credit line of EUR 450 million to finance the construction of Lviv Northern bypass and the rehabilitation of sections of M-05 highway in Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions in Ukraine.
According to the report of the bank, its Board of Directors approved the project on October 15, 2019.
The EIB said that the investments will improve the quality of the extended TEN-T network (Trans-European Transport Network) by creating safer road conditions and reducing environmental pollution. In addition, the Lviv Northern bypass will shorten travel time and divert traffic from the city of Lviv.
The bank said that the EIB will require the Promoter to ensure that any procurement procedures are done in accordance with the Bank’s Guide to Procurement and the relevant applicable EU public procurement rules.
According to the report, the total cost of the framework project is around EUR 1.05 billion. Other sources of financing are not disclosed.
As reported, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and JSC Ukrzaliznytsia intended on October 21, 2019 to announce tender procurement of materials for modernization of TEN-T tracks for $100 million raised by the company from the bank.
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 23/10/19
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of October 23
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
