Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plans to visit Germany in April, his press secretary, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, has said. “Right after Easter [on April 8] I plan to make a visit to Germany,” Tsegolko quoted the head of state as saying.
The appeal of the presidential administration to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the reaction to the legislative initiative to introduce an exit capital tax in Ukraine makes it difficult to introduce this tax, Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk has said. “I think it would be reasonable, especially considering that this is the initiative of the Ministry of Finance [the bill on exit capital tax], to ask the finance minister, who coordinates work with the IMF, about the position of the IMF … Now this has created some difficulties both for the president and for us, but I think we will get out of this situation,” the minister said on the air of the NV radio.
He stressed the bill does not provide for how to compensate for budget losses when replacing profit tax with exit capital tax. The Ministry of Finance, in turn, proposes to foresee such compensatory mechanisms in the Budget Resolution and send it to the parliament together with the bill on exit capital tax. “Why did the IMF react negatively? Because the presidential administration decided to send the bill there. Of course, the IMF sees risks that there is a plan to implement such a bill without compensatory mechanisms,” he said.
He also noted that, according to the ministry’s calculations, budget losses from replacing profit tax by exit capital tax will amount to UAH 25 billion in the first year, and UAH 31 billion in the second year.
The government of Japan together with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) will transfer digital trunking radio communications equipment to the main directorate of the National Police of Ukraine in Sumy region. “We continue cooperation within the framework of the program for the development of material and technical capacity of the National Police. The government of Japan together with the UN Office for Project Services will soon transfer equipment of digital trunking radio communications to the main department of the National Police in Sumy region,” Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov said at a meeting with Ambassador of Japan to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi.
According to Avakov, Japan is a reliable partner in all projects of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine. “Thanks to the government of Japan for a systematic and fruitful cooperation,” he added. The ambassador assured the minister in further support of the initiatives of the Ukrainian ministry on the way of reforming the civil security sector in the country.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko will pay a state visit to Kuwait on March 18-19 and Qatar on March 19-20, the presidential press service has reported.
The program of visit to Kuwait envisages Poroshenko’s negotiations with Kuwait Amir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait Jabir al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah, Speaker of the National Assembly of Kuwait Marzouq Ali al-Ghanim, as well as Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Sabah al-Khalid al-Hamad al-Sabah.
In addition, the president will meet with the leadership of the leading investment funds in Kuwait.
“Within the framework of the visit, it is planned to discuss a wide range of issues of Ukrainian-Kuwaiti cooperation in trade and economic, military and technical, investment and humanitarian spheres. A number of bilateral documents are to be signed,” the press service said.
On March 19-20 Poroshenko will pay an official visit to Qatar, where he will hold negotiations with Amir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister and Interior Minister Abdallah bin Nasir bin Khalifa Al Thani. The president is also expected to attend the opening of the international agricultural exhibition Qatar International Agricultural Exhibition 2018.
Within the framework of the visit, it is planned to discuss a wide range of issues of Ukrainian-Qatari cooperation in trade and economic, investment, energy, agriculture and other spheres. A number of bilateral documents are to be signed.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has sent 300 inquiries to 57 countries of the world on the affairs of Ukrainian top corrupt officials in the framework of cooperation with the European Organization for Justice (Eurojust), which began in 2016. The NABU press service said 130 of the 300 requests have been fulfilled.
Latvia, Cyprus, Austria, the United Kingdom and Switzerland are leading among the countries where “Ukrainian corrupt officials left their mark, and to the competent authorities of which the NABU applied most often,” the report says.
Officers from the international legal department of the NABU on March 14-15 visited Eurojust in The Hague (the Netherlands) at the invitation of the host country. Within the framework of the visit, the parties discussed the issues of mutual legal assistance in criminal proceedings. They discussed the application of the provisions of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 1959, the Second Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 2001, as well as the peculiarities of bilateral interaction with national representatives of the states, with which the NABU cooperates more often.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has presented seven strategic goals for the medium term. “In the next three years we will focus on the following objectives: low and stable inflation, a stable, transparent and efficient banking system, the resumption of lending, efficient regulation of the financial sector, free flow of capital, financial inclusion, and a modern, open, independent and effective central bank,” the newly appointed governor of the central bank, Yakiv Smolii, said, when introducing the document in Kyiv.
According to the document, six out of the seven goals are external and aim at meeting needs of the financial ecosystem participants. At the same time, the banker said institutional capacity of the central bank is one of their prerequisites. That is why the seventh, internal goal of the NBU is to become a modern, open, independent, and effective central bank. “At present we have a strong foundation to develop the financial system. For the last two years Ukrainian banks won back the public confidence. The NBU has a clear vision and program, i.e. we will continue to devote our efforts in ensuring price and financial stability, and together with the financial sector foster the economic growth,” Smolii added.
