KYIV. June 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada on June 15 rarified agreements on international intermodal transportation with the Hungarian government, on air traffic with the Cypriot and Greek governments and air transportation with the Polish government, the press service of the Infrastructure Ministry has reported.
“The agreements aim at creating a bilateral contract and legislative base for international air traffic between Ukraine and the mentioned countries,” Deputy Infrastructure Minister Dmytro Romensky said.
He said that the agreements would help to create a reliable international legal mechanism to implement and step up bilateral interstate relations, further develop cooperation in aviation transportation and establish effective relations and expand geography of flights of Ukrainian airlines.
Excluding the temporarily occupied territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol and part of the anti-terrorist operation zone. Source: State Statistics Services
Ukrainian entrepreneurs have proposed representatives of European institutions in Brussels how to improve the policy of trade and economic relations with Ukraine. These proposals can be incorporated in the addenda to the EU trade strategy, which was published by the European Commission in late 2015. Currently, the European community is mulling possible ways to improve it, in particular, much time of the European Business Summit in the Belgian capital was devoted to the discussion of this issue.
Ukraine for the first time joined the discussion of this forward-looking strategy of the EU, as a delegation of the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE) was a partner in the summit.
It is widely known that the interests of small- and medium-sized businesses are increasingly influencing trade policy of the EU. To enjoy successful cooperation, Ukraine should rapidly develop the business environment and become a full-fledged partner of foreign investors and companies. This is beneficial to both parties, because the domestic market does not use its full potential. Therefore, the ULIE insists on joint monitoring of the use of targeted financial assistance and EU investments in making loans to domestic businesses affordable and modernizing of the economy instead of covering different types of deficit.
“It’s time for Ukrainian businessmen, officials and diplomats to become more active in that direction, because foreign trade does not demonstrate growth despite the launch of the free trade area. In particular, in January-March 2016, trade turnover between Ukraine and the European Union was $7.058 billion, which was even 2% down on the same period of 2015,” ULIE President Anatoliy Kinakh said.
He agreed with many members of the business summit that more efforts should be made to assist small businesses in using the benefits of free trade, influencing the EU’s trade policy. Ukrainian industrialists and entrepreneurs, based on its representative office in Brussels, are willing to participate in this process.
Nowadays, European officials positively assess the efforts and initiatives of Ukrainian businesses. In their view, it considerably encourages investors and companies from the EU member states to enter the Ukrainian market and boost cooperation. They welcome the activities of the representative office of Ukrainian entrepreneurs in the EU, which was opened by the ULIE in Brussels in April last year, and praise its regular contacts with the European Parliament, the European Commission, partners from BUSINESSEUROPE, which is the largest and most powerful business association in Europe.
In turn, Ukraine has to do its own “homework” to ensure complete adaptation of domestic products in line with EU standards and regulations, greater legal protection of the rights of owners and investors and to facilitate the development of the business climate.
The Ukrainian delegation focused on negotiations not only with peers from the EU, but also reached preliminary agreements with relevant business associations from Canada and Serbia. In particular, the heads of the ULIE and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) initiated the signing of a cooperation agreement, which will stipulate key agreements to enhance bilateral economic contacts. CFIB President, CEO and Chair Dan Kelly proposes devoting more attention to cooperation in the field of small- and medium-sized businesses and investment.
As early as this summer, Canada will host negotiations between the organizations and a joint plan of action with specific tasks, deadlines and commitments will be drawn up. The parties also expect the fastest signing of the FTA between Canada and Ukraine, which, according to some sources, is scheduled for this summer.
Serbia can also become an interesting market for Ukrainian manufacturers. Entrepreneurs from that country are willing to buy Ukrainian equipment and instruments, farm produce, and metallurgical products. This was confirmed by President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mark Čadež at a meeting with Anatoliy Kinakh. He supported the idea of strengthening bilateral communication in economic issues and cooperation in boosting trade to the level that meets the capabilities and interests of both countries. The ULIE and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry agreed to prepare a memorandum of cooperation.
Much effort should be put into the full use of all the possibilities of the free trade area between the EU and Ukraine. The plans include further work to inform the business community about the potential areas of cooperation that are interesting to foreign partners and Ukrainian businesses and arrange workshops, conferences, and meetings in the B2B format.
As was earlier reported, Brussels has recently hosted the European Business Summit, which was co-organized for the first time by the ULIE. Our delegation included about 50 respected businessmen, politicians and opinion leaders and was led by ULIE President Anatoliy Kinakh. Its task was to bring Ukraine’s potential to investors’ attention as much as possible and to significantly facilitate Ukrainian producers’ export opportunities.
The Summit brought together more than 2,000 participants from EU countries, high representatives of EU institutions. Honorary guests of the event were be President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, and others.
Ukrainian businesses have got an opportunity to find reliable partners and customers in Canada. The Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE), being a major business association of Ukrainian industrialists and entrepreneurs, will sign a cooperation agreement with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which will feature an agreement to boost bilateral economic contacts. This was discussed at a meeting between ULIE President Anatoliy Kinakh and President, CEO and Chair of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business Dan Kelly at the European Business Summit in Brussels.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is a big association that brings together dozens of that country’s influential business structures, 109,000 small- and medium-sized businesses. This type of business is the backbone of the economy of Canada and should become the same in Ukraine, the two officials said. In particular, the partners propose focusing most of attention on the development of entrepreneurship and are ready to share experience for well-considered and effective investment in the most promising sectors of the economy.
Signing an agreement on cooperation will become proof of intent to develop cooperation. As early as this summer, talks between the organizations will take place in Canada, and they will draft a joint plan of action with detailed tasks, deadlines, and commitments.
ULIE President Kinakh says these efforts will allow Ukrainian businesses to increase and diversify their exports, without limiting themselves to the European destination in order to find compensation of the loss of the eastern markets and attract foreign investors to develop production, launch new projects.
In this context, the parties spoke for the need to sign an already initialed agreement on the free trade area between Ukraine and Canada, as it will significantly improve the efficiency of economic partnership between the two countries, will become am incentive to boosting exports and imports, and investment.
It must be noted that the said agreement provides for a gradual (over a decade) mutual reduction in import duties on most of the product groups, as in the end it should lead to the cancellation of 98% of them.
Ukrainian shipments to Canada in January-February 2016 grew by 73.3% year-over-year, to $19.4 million, while imports from that country rose by 29.3%, to $47.9 million.
MYKOLAIV. June 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Transnational company Bunge has invested $180 million in building a handling complex with an oilseed refinery, an oil handling terminal and the expanded grain terminal.
The company said in a press release that the project is one of the largest U.S. investments in the Ukrainian agrarian sector.
Thanks to the operation of the new handling complex launched by Bunge Ukraine exports of Ukrainian-made products and cargo handling at the port would increase by 1 million tonnes.
The capacity of the sunflower oil refinery allows refining 790,000 tonnes of oilseeds a year (2,400 tonnes of sunflower seeds and 1,700 tonnes of soybeans a day).
The company’s annual transshipment capacities grew by 1.75 million tonnes of grain, oil cake and oil.
Bunge Ukraine Managing Director Dmytro Horshunov said that the complex continues the company’s strategy aimed at developing infrastructure at Mykolaiv seaport. In 2011 the company built a handling terminal at this port and it expanded Ukraine’s exports capacity by 3 million tonnes a year.
“The total cost of the two projects is $280 million. We will continue investing not only in the development of infrastructure and exports capacity of Ukrainian ports, but also in Ukrainian agriculture in general,” he said.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko at the ribbon-cutting ceremony said that this investment is evidence of improving investment climate in Ukraine.
“The opening of the complex confirms firm confidence of investors in the better future of Ukraine,” he said.
The president said that this project would allow increasing purchase prices of agricultural products, currency income and strengthening the Ukrainian currency exchange rate. These projects in Ukraine show that reforms conducted in the country are effective, the head of state said.
Poroshenko thanked Bunge Ukraine for its social projects. The company sent over UAH 1 million to support ATO soldiers in the past 12 months.
KYIV. June 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Gas transportation operators of Ukraine and Poland, Ukrtransgaz and Gaz-System, have drawn up a feasibility study for building a gas interconnector between the two countries of 99.3 kilometers long. The companies are ready to start drawing up blueprints..
“The start of construction is scheduled for 2017,” the head of the public and media relations department at Ukrtransgaz Maksym Beliavsky said on Wednesday.
He told Interfax-Ukraine that Ukrtransgaz and Gaz-System have approved one of the three routes and seek to start blueprint works in July.
The first phase of the project implies construction of the interconnector intended to increase exports of natural gas from Poland to Ukraine with an annual capacity of up to 5 billion cubic meters. The second phase would boost exports to 8 billion cubic meters a year. The decision to implement the second phase would depend on the situation on the market.
Beliavsky said that the advanced technology of horizontal directional drilling to pass water reservoirs under their beds.
The route crosses 24 rivers, 27 roads and once railway tracks and 14 other gas pipelines.
Ukrtransgaz said that over 1,000 company employees will be involved in the project.
As reported, on December 17, 2014, Ukrtransgaz and Gaz-System signed a cooperation agreement on the preparation of a feasibility study on the merger of the Polish and Ukrainian gas transport systems.
The document foresees not only integration of the gas transport systems of the two states with the purpose of increasing imports of gas to Ukraine from Europe via Poland, but also storage of European gas in Ukrainian underground storage facilities and its supplies to EU consumers.
