KYIV. Sept 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers has approved an agreement with Romania revoking long-term visa fees.
According to government resolution No. 617 dated September 8, the agreement was signed by the governments of the two countries on May 6, 2016 in Solotvyne (Zakarpattia region).
According to the report, the agreement envisages free-of-charge registration of long-term visas – permitting Ukrainian citizens and Romanian citizens to enter Romania or Ukraine to register documents permitting stay or residence in these states for the period of over 90 days.
The implementation of the agreement would help to develop bilateral relations between the two countries, intensify contacts in social, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.
KYIV. Sept 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Switzerland’s Aspra Finanz Holding AG that held 48% each in insurance companies Vector Invest and Vector Invest Life (both based in Kyiv) has left the companies as a shareholder, the companies have reported.
An individual that held 42% of shares in Vector Invest left the company as a shareholder. An individual that held 42% of shares in Vector Invest Life also left the company as a shareholder.
Other individual acquired 100% or 7,500 voting shares in Vector Invest and an individual became the only shareholder in Vector Invest Life buying 11,000 shares.
Ultimate beneficiaries of the two companies are the founder of Pozniaky-Zhyl-Bud Corporation Never Mkhitarian and Aspra Finanz Holding AG, the ultimate beneficiary of which is Sinan Bodmer (Switzerland).
According to the public register, Mkhitarian holds 47% of shares in Vector Invest Life and Kyiv’s resident Hahik Mikaelian – 5%.
KYIV. Sept 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has said that a join investment forum with Ukraine will be held in Paris on October 28.
“An important investment forum between Ukraine and France is scheduled for October 28,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
The French foreign minister added that he welcomes Ukraine’s support by the IMF, which contributes to the implementation of reforms in the country.
KYIV. Sept 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman welcomes the decision of the International Monetary Fund to allocate the next tranche to Ukraine.
“Fund’s tranche is not just an aid, which is necessary for the economy, it is also a signal to foreign investors that one can and should invest into the economy of Ukraine. We will have workspaces together with the investment,” Groysman wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday night.
He also noted that the stabilization of the economic situation allows us to pose the question of raising social standards, “and we envisaged such decisions while forming the budget last week.”
KYIV. Sept 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The United Kingdom will provide assistance to Ukraine in reforming the customs sector and the judicial system.
“We’ve agreed that the UK will consistently assist us in the reform of our customs system and the introduction of a parliamentary system of transparency,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson, in turn, expressed his support for the reforms.
“We will contribute to the reform of the tax system, a few of our prominent experts, including tax attorneys, will work in Ukraine,” he said.
Johnson said the parties also discussed the reform of the judiciary, providing the transparency and integrity of the parliament.
KYIV. Sept 14 (Interfax) – Ukraine and Georgia have signed an agreement at the governmental level on arranging direct international railroad services through the two countries’ seaports, the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry press service reported on Tuesday.
The agreement was signed at the International Maritime Forum in Batumi on September 13.
“We signed a very important document today, which links Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan along the Silk Road. This initiative has gotten a second wind and, undeniably, has great prospects. Our countries have applied a lot of effort to simplify the logistics, make the transit cheaper, and, above all, speed up the delivery of goods, so as to make it as comfortable for business as possible,” Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan said.
In the current market conditions, the speed of goods delivery is just as important as the delivery cost, and increasingly more companies agree to bear extra expenditures to deliver goods not in two or three months but in 9-15 days, he said.
“We should increase the speed at which containers pass from China to Ukraine’s western border to 9-10 days,” Omelyan said.
The two countries are continuing negotiations on introducing a through rate and simplifying the customs procedures, he said.
“I hope we will complete the formalities this year and will start deliveries as such next year. We see great interest on the part of the EU countries. This is not only an economic but also a political project for Ukraine. We should be independent from a particular country’s moods. We should launch a procedure in such a way that a cargo be delivered timely and in any weather, either political or economic,” he said.
