KYIV. Oct 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s goods turnover with Australia in January-June 2017 grew by 56%, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said.
According to the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers, after a meeting of the Ukrainian prime minister with President of the Senate Stephen Parry in Kyiv on Monday the sides discussed cooperation between the two countries.
“Groysman invited business circles of Australia to enhance investment activities in Ukraine and expressed interest in increasing trade turnover between the two countries, which has soared by over 56% as a result of seven months of the year,” the press service said.
The prime minister said that nowadays the countries have greater potential in bilateral trade than they show.
According to the report, in January-July 2017, goods turnover between Ukraine and Australia expanded to $112.9 million (a rise of 56.3%), exports to $7.82 million (a rise of 53.8%) and imports – $105.11 million (an increase of 56.5%).
KYIV. Oct 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The facilitation of the visa regime, in particular the reduction of terms of considering visas for health tourists by embassies, could increase their inflow to Ukraine by 10%, President of the Ukrainian Association of Medical Tourism Violetta Yanyshevska has said.
“The number of health tourists in Ukraine could grow by 10% if we relax the visa procedure. If we create favorable conditions in other factors, the flow could increase several-fold,” she said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Monday.
She said that the number of health tourists entering Ukraine in 2016 was around 55,000 patients, including citizens of Israel, Italy, Spain, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Mainly foreign patients travel to Ukraine to receive rehabilitation and dentists’ services, plastic surgery, cell therapy, cardiovascular surgeries and treat ophthalmic diseases.
KYIV. Oct 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has backed the idea of creating the new public system for financial and economic maintenance of forest industry – a financial forest fund, according to a posting on the website of the State Forest Agency of Ukraine.
“The draft strategy [for development and institutional reformation of forest industry in Ukraine for the period until 2022] has principles of public governance and financing and returning of the status of the key spending unit of budget funds to the State Forest Agency. The new public system for financial and economic maintenance of forest industry – a financial forest fund – is presented,” Deputy Chairman of the State Forest Agency Volodymyr Bondar said.
He said that the issue was discussed at a meeting on the improvement of the public policy in the field of forestry and hunting economy chaired by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Ivano-Frankivsk last week.
“The Ukrainian president backed the proposed idea and instructed to work out the issue jointly with the Finance Ministry,” the authority said.
The creation of the financial forest fund would help to prevent unlawful logging, introduce the balanced forest industry in southern and eastern parts of the country, conduct a stocktaking, prevent natural disasters and their aftermath, prevent outbreaks of forest pest spreading and forest diseases and cultivate planting stock.
The draft strategy also has a mechanism for improving the institutional structure of forest industry.
“We enshrine the principle of dividing management functions – management and oversight. Foresters should cultivate forest and protect it. Forest inspectors of the State Forest Agency should fulfill the oversight function,” Bondar said.
The agency believes if the strategy is adopted, the country would be able to secure stable development of forest industry meeting Ukraine’s international liabilities, create the effective management and oversight system, ensure planting of new forests and preserve biodiversity, settle the timber market, create new jobs and attract investment in the forest sector.
KYIV. Oct 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on September 29 took part in the opening of a new plant of the German concern Leoni for production of cables for the automotive industry in Kolomyia (Ivano-Frankivsk region).
“Today’s event is important, especially if to consider that Leoni concern is one of the world’s largest producers of electrical cable networks. Leoni’s key customers are General Motors, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and other elite brands of cars,” the head of state said when opening the enterprise.
He noted that 5,000 jobs should be created in Kolomyia by 2021 and now their number is 800. In addition, investors will provide wages equal to UAH 8,000.
“I would like to thank Leoni, which was one of the first to believe in Ukraine, the first to vote for the future of Ukraine with dollars, euros, creating future jobs, providing new taxes in the territorial communities, believing that Ukraine is competitive and efficient for investors,” Poroshenko said.
KYIV. Oct 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The volume of exports of computer and information services from Ukraine in January-June 2017 increased by 18.3%, to $1.256 billion compared with the same period in 2016.
According to the press service of the European Business Association (EBA), thus, in terms of export earnings growth in the first half of the year, the IT industry ranked third in the export structure. At the same time, the volume of tax revenues from the IT sector to the national budget grew by 32.9% against the similar figure of last year and amounted to UAH 3.69 million.
“In the first half of 2017, the industry of information and computer services in Ukraine continues to show a steady and stable growth in terms of exports of high-tech solutions and tax revenues to the budget,” a statement reads.
The growth in the main indicators of the IT sector is primarily due to a 7% rise in the number of specialists in the top 50 largest players in the industry (according to the dou.ua portal) in January-June 2017, the adoption of bill No. 4496 on simplification of exports of services at the end of 2016 and a relative political and legislative stability in the country.
“At present the IT industry is a driver of the growth of the Ukrainian economy and a component of the promotion of our state as a high-tech country in the international arena. Starting from 2013, the industry demonstrates a stable growth in exports and in the first half of this year it ranked third in terms of growth in foreign currency earnings,” Executive Director of the EBA IT Committee Kostiantyn Vasiuk said.
KYIV. Oct 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Artificial coating for football fields will be produced in Ukraine, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has stated.
“In the near future we will open a plant for production of coating for football fields, since it is very important for us to have a specialized football ground at every stadium, and ideally in most schools,” Poroshenko said during a working trip to Ivano-Frankivsk region.
According to the presidential press service, Poroshenko visited the newly constructed football stadium for children and youth and amateur football and presented awards to the winners of the Hat-Trick Arena Cup tournament.
He also congratulated the Ukrainian football clubs Dynamo and Zarya with successful performances in the UEFA Europa League and the Prykarpattia local team with a successful performance in the Ukrainian Cup.
The head of state expressed confidence in the “fantastic future” of Ukrainian football.
“The future is not in the purchase of foreign stars. The future is in our children’s football, our football school and the state’s concern for the younger generation,” he said.
