Within the program of celebrating Malbec World Day, a professional tasting was held under the auspices of the Embassy of Argentina, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina, the Wines of Argentina association and the Argentine Wine Company.
The organizer of the tasting with food-and-wine pairing was the Cheese Kingdom chain of stores.
The Ambassador’s residence has become a real reflection of the culture of Argentina, where an incredible atmosphere soared thanks to the best professionals in their field.
Ideal pairs were chosen and the wines were commented on: Valeria Gamper – Best Sommelier in Argentina 2019, Juan Pablo Murgia – Best Argentine Oenologist 2021 under 40, Emiliano Stratico – WSET teacher in Bordeaux, and Denis Priimagi – First Cheese Sommelier in Ukraine, the author of Cheese Kingdom and a jury member of The World Cheese Awards.
The tasting was attended by professional figures of Ukraine: the best sommeliers and cavists, the owners of culinary schools, catering companies, event operators and other professionals in the high-end gastronomy segment.
The following best combinations were selected:
1) Argento Organic Malbec 2020 with Beemster Royaal Grand Cru;
2) La Mascota Malbec 2019 – Aged Sheep Cheese (6 months);
3) Santa Ana Malbec Reserve – Gudbrandsdalen;
4) Fuzion Malbec 2018 – Gorgonzola Dolce;
5) La Linda Malbec 2018 – Der Alte old Gouda;
6) Trapiche Malbec – Tete de Moine.
Cheese Kingdom is a family of atmospheric Dutch cheese shops, with 100 types of cheese from Europe. The mission of the Cheese Kingdom chain is to develop the European culture of cheese consumption in Ukraine. To teach understand it, love, create, serve, cut, taste and cook correctly every day. Today there are 74 stores in the Cheese Kingdom chain throughout Ukraine.
A China-Europe freight train carrying household goods is heading from Guangzhou, China, to Odessa, Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure said on its Facebook page on Friday.
“Aa total of 50 containers with a volume of 40 feet each left the territory of Mongolia, 5,330 km are left to the border with Ukraine… This route combines the delivery of goods by sea and rail, as it combines two ports – Chinese Gaunzhou and Ukrainian Odessa. The distance between destinations is 8,408 km,” – the message says.
The ministry said that in Mongolia, the train was reloaded at the railway docking port of Erenhot. More than 6,000 freight trains from China to Europe pass through this hub.
The Ministry of Infrastructure recalled that the first train from the Chinese port of Guangzhou to Europe left for Poland at the end of April this year.
In 15 days, it arrived at its destination almost twice as fast as by sea.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov held a telephone conversation, during which they agreed to establish a Business Council uniting the businesses of the two countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said.
“Today, it is the ministries of foreign affairs of the two countries that are the driving force of bilateral relations between Ukraine and Turkmenistan. Together we are reaching a qualitatively new level of interaction,” the Ukrainian MFA press service said, citing Kuleba on Friday.
Kuleba confirmed the interest of the Ukrainian side in the participation of leading Ukrainian companies in the implementation of major business projects in Turkmenistan. In turn, Meredov said the Turkmen side sees Ukrainian companies as reliable partners and is interested in expanding cooperation.
“The heads of Ukrainian and Turkmen diplomacy agreed to create a Business Council, which will unite Ukrainian and Turkmen businesses on a permanent basis,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The head of the Ukrainian MFA proposed expanding bilateral cooperation to new sectors, in particular, medical tourism and agriculture.
Kuleba also noted the importance of restoring direct flights between Ashgabat and Kyiv and Ashgabat and Lviv for the revitalization of interpersonal and business contacts.
“Inter-human ties best strengthen relations between our societies and states,” he said.
The ministers discussed preparations for the fifth meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Ukrainian-Turkmen Commission on Economic, Cultural and Humanitarian Cooperation in Kyiv.
The sides paid special attention to the issues of mutual support of initiatives within international organizations, as well as interaction in the education and culture sectors.
Meredov highly appreciated the extremely friendly attitude of Ukraine towards Turkmen students studying in Ukraine. Kuleba said he would cordially welcome the increase in the number of students from Turkmenistan in Ukrainian educational institutions.
A separate subject of conversation was the prospects for the development of new logistics routes between Central Europe and Central Asia, in which Ukraine and Turkmenistan can play a key role.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has approved $150 million in assistance to Ukraine to strengthen its defense capabilities, including training and advisory efforts, according to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.
“New $150 million package for Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, including training, equipment and advisory efforts to help Ukraine’s forces preserve the country’s territorial integrity, secure its borders, and improve NATO interoperability,” the embassy said on Twitter.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the U.S. side for the decision.
“Grateful to the White House for this important contribution to saving lives of our soldiers and strengthening capabilities of the Ukrainian army,” the president said on Twitter.
Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko criticized head of the Ministry of Health Maksym Stepanov for poor planning of measures to combat COVID-19, while admitting the possibility of increasing spending on medicine in the state budget-2021.
“He behaves like a character from ’12 Chairs’. ‘Money in the morning – chairs in the evening, money in the evening – chairs in the morning, but money in advance.’ That’s how Stepanov behaves. His task is to get as much of a budget as possible, taking advantage of the fact that we have a COVID, we have problems, we have people dying, and then, using this rhetoric, to solve those problems that are necessary to solve. I think this is absolutely wrong,” Marchenko said in an interview with lb.ua.
“We must first propose a plan, show a solution to the problem, and there was enough time for that, and then ask the finance minister or the government questions to search for funds. And now we have the approach – first money, and then I will fight COVID-19. It is impossible to put the question like that,” the minister said.
At the same time, the head of the Ministry of Finance pointed to the unspent funds of the Fund to Combat COVID-19 at the end of 2020.
“At the Cabinet of Ministers we often sort things out, and this is normal, because I have something to ask him, in particular, about the leftovers of last year. He collected money, and in the end we got leftovers that were not used,” Marchenko said.
Speaking about the possibility of correction of the state budget for 2021, he also said there is a possibility of increasing spending on medicine.
“There is a possibility of such a scenario, since there is a need to close several issues on medicine. We will discuss with the IMF and with other partners the possibility of minor adjustments to the budget,” Marchenko said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during his phone call with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi discussed steps to step up bilateral trade, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has reported.
“We are interested in significantly expanding the range of Ukrainian exports to the Indonesian market, which we also consider as a platform for the expansion of Ukrainian goods to other countries of Southeast Asia. Ukraine can also become a bridge for Indonesian goods to enter the markets of Eastern Europe,” Kuleba said.
He noted the importance of holding the fourth joint meeting of the intergovernmental economic commission in 2021 to select promising economic projects. The minister also said that the Council of Exporters and Investors under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will bolster assistance to Ukrainian companies in establishing ties with Indonesian business.
The two foreign ministers pointed out the importance of starting expert consultations between Ukraine and Indonesia to consider the signing of an agreement on preferential trade.
Kuleba also called a promising area of cooperation in teaching Indonesian students in Ukraine.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has partially slowed down the development of important projects between our states. There has been a slight drop in trade volumes, contacts between governments and citizens have become fewer. We are now striving not only to catch up with the pre-existing level of relations, but also to significantly revive them in the political, trade, educational and cultural spheres,” the minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine said.
The phone call between the Ukrainian and Indonesian diplomats took place on the day of the celebration of the 29th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Indonesia.
The ministers agreed to hold political consultations of their ministries in the near future and presented invitations to exchange visits.
