According to Serbian Economist, Montenegro will become a party to the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure and the Convention on the Simplification of Formalities in Trade in Goods from November 1, 2025, reports the State Customs Service of Ukraine.
The decision was made by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD). Once the convention enters into force, Montenegrin customs authorities will be able to perform the functions of customs offices of departure and destination for international shipments under the NCTS procedure.
The State Customs Service of Ukraine emphasized that the expansion of the network of countries participating in the Convention contributes to the development of uniform digital standards and reduces customs clearance time at borders.
The Common Transit Convention and the Convention on the Simplification of Formalities in Trade in Goods are international agreements aimed at simplifying the movement of goods between countries through uniform customs procedures and the NCTS (New Computerized Transit System) electronic system.
Convention participants can file a transit declaration once for the entire route chain, which reduces administrative costs and speeds up the delivery of goods. For countries seeking integration with the EU, participation in the NCTS system opens up access to a single digital customs space and increases attractiveness for businesses, especially logistics and export-import companies.
Serbia officially acceded to the Convention on February 1, 2016. On that day, the country began practical application of the NCTS system.
https://t.me/relocationrs/1614
On November 7, 2025, the National Association of Lobbyists of Ukraine (NALU) and Yuridicheskaya Praktika publishing house will hold an official presentation of the opening of the Higher School of Lobbying in Ukraine. The event will be a key step in forming a new professional community of specialists working at the intersection of business, government, and civil society.
The Higher School of Lobbying was created to develop ethical, transparent, and effective practices for representing interests in public policy. Its goal is to lay the foundation for the professional training of a new generation of lobbyists who operate according to the principles of integrity, responsibility, and the rule of law.
During the event, there will be a presentation lecture on the new NALU educational course “Lobbying and Advocacy: The Art of Influencing Public Policy,” which will familiarize listeners with the training program and basic topics of the course.
Leading experts will share their knowledge:
• Lyudmila Kozhura, Doctor of Law, Professor, Director of the Vadym Hetman KNEU Law Institute — will reveal the legal basis of lobbying and international standards for its regulation.
• Iryna Shapovalova, Deputy Chair of the NALU Board, will focus on ethical standards and the culture of professional lobbying.
• Yana Tsymbalenko, Associate Professor at Igor Sikorsky KPI, expert on corruption prevention, will give a lecture on the risks of shadow lobbying and the principles of transparency.
Members of the NALU Board of Trustees, representatives of the business, legal, and educational communities will take part in the event. After the official part, there will be networking with guests and communication with teachers and project organizers.
The venue will be announced later for security reasons.
Follow the official announcements of the National Association of Lobbyists of Ukraine, register to participate, and join the community at: info@unla.org.ua.
The National Association of Lobbyists of Ukraine (NALU) brings together lawyers, financial experts, and attorneys to promote investment and protect business interests.
Yuridicheskaya Praktika is a leading Ukrainian media outlet specializing in law and jurisprudence, founded in 1995, with print and electronic versions.
Shareholders of the insurance company “Suzirya” (Kyiv) Oleksiy Tugay, who owned 20.009% of the insurer, reduced his stake to 0%, according to information posted by the company in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC).
At the same time, it is noted that Natalia Oksenko, who owned 4.947% of the insurer, increased her stake to 8.495%, and Anna Pysmenna, who previously did not own any shares, now owns 8.849%.
The insurance company provides almost all types of insurance specified by the current legislation of Ukraine.
According to the NSSMC, in the first quarter of 2025, the company’s shareholders were Rostislav Pokrovsky (73.037%) and Oleksiy Tugay (20.009%).
In September, the Chinese economy showed higher-than-expected growth rates in industry and retail trade, indicating a gradual recovery in domestic demand and business activity.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, industrial production grew by 6.5% year-on-year, the highest rate since June. In August, growth was 5.2%, and analysts had expected a slowdown to 5%.
The largest contributors were:
manufacturing — +7.3%,
mining — +6.4%,
oil and gas — +8.9%,
automobile production — +16%,
computers and telecommunications equipment — +11.3%.
Growth was recorded in 36 of 41 sectors of the economy. Overall, industrial production increased by 6.2% in the first nine months of 2025 compared to the same period last year.
Retail sales in September grew by 3% year-on-year. This is slightly less than in August (3.4%), but still better than analysts’ forecasts (2.9%).
The largest increases were in sales of food products (+6.3%), jewelry (+9.7%), and clothing (+4.7%). Car sales rose by 1.6%, while petroleum product sales fell by 7.1%.
Since the beginning of the year, retail turnover has reached 36.6 trillion yuan (about $5.1 trillion), which is 4.5% more than a year earlier.
Investments in fixed assets as a whole declined slightly, by 0.5%, mainly due to a decline in the construction sector (-13.9%). At the same time, investments in infrastructure and manufacturing grew by 1.1% and 4%, respectively.
The unemployment rate in September fell to 5.2% from 5.3% a month earlier.
Experts from the Experts Club analytical center note that the Chinese economy remains stable despite the slowdown in global demand and difficulties in the real estate sector.
Reference: Experts Club.
For several years now, China has ranked first in the world in terms of economic size, calculated in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), ahead of the US and the EU. This confirms its status as the largest industrial and consumer center on the planet.
Reuters reports that Uzbek startup Uzum, the largest player in the fintech and e-commerce sector in Uzbekistan, is considering listing on the London Stock Exchange. This was announced in an interview with the agency by the company’s co-founder Nikolai Seleznyov.
According to him, London has been added to the list of potential venues for an IPO, alongside the Nasdaq (New York), Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong exchanges, where interest in Uzum has grown following investments by Chinese company Tencent.
Founded in 2022, Uzum quickly became Uzbekistan’s most valuable startup, valued at $1.5 billion. In August, the company raised $70 million in equity capital from Tencent and the American fund VR Capital, becoming the first “unicorn” (startup unicorn) in the country’s history. Currently, about 17 million Uzbeks use Uzum’s services every month.
Seleznyov noted that the initial public offering (IPO) is planned for 2027, but it is too early to discuss a specific target valuation.
“If we were to go public on the London Stock Exchange, we would definitely consider the FTSE 100,” he said.
During the latest round of funding, Uzum also attracted the attention of investors from the UK and the Middle East. According to Seleznyov, many of them are interested not only in the company itself, but also in the economic potential of Uzbekistan, which in recent years has been actively pursuing reforms under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, opening the country to international investment.
Seleznyov explained that Uzum is considering a foreign IPO due to liquidity and investor base structure issues that affect the company’s valuation. At the same time, he stressed that strengthening its position in the domestic market remains a priority:
“We are not seeking overly rapid geographical expansion. First, we want to truly conquer and dominate Uzbekistan to prove that we are capable of building a system that is competitive on a global level,” he said.
Thus, as Reuters notes, Uzum is not just a fast-growing fintech startup, but a symbol of a new wave of technological development in Uzbekistan, demonstrating the growing confidence of international investors in the country’s economic reforms.
US President Donald Trump will visit Japan from October 27 to 29 and hold talks with new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Japanese Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Wednesday.
“President Trump’s visit will provide an extremely important opportunity to further strengthen the US-Japan alliance,” Kihara said, according to Kyodo.
He expressed hope that Trump’s trip would establish a personal relationship of trust between him and Prime Minister Takaichi and ensure the joint implementation of the concept of a “free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
According to Kyodo sources, Takaichi plans to discuss with Trump a joint response by Japan and the US to the growth of China’s military presence in the East China Sea and South China Sea, as well as North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. Other topics will include US-Japan trade, the investment agreement signed last July, and Japan’s defense spending.
Trump is expected to meet with Emperor Naruhito of Japan on Monday, with Takaichi on Tuesday, and to visit the US naval base in Yokosuka.
Trump last visited Japan in 2019. This time, before traveling to Tokyo, Trump is expected to attend the ASEAN summit in Malaysia and then head to the APEC summit in South Korea, where he may meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In turn, Japan’s new Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said he would coordinate with Washington on the implementation of the US-Japan trade agreement, under which goods from Japan are subject to a 15% tariff.
The Japanese parliament elected Takaichi, the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as the country’s prime minister the day before.
According to Kyodo, 64-year-old Takaichi is known for her “hardline views on security.” The former interior minister advocates, in particular, revising Article 9 of the 1947 Japanese constitution, which renounces militarism.
Takai is considered a supporter of far-right and nationalist views and is a member of Japan’s largest conservative and nationalist non-governmental organization and lobbying group, Nippon Kaigi. She is vice-chair of the parliamentary conference on the restoration of Shinto shrines and the promotion of moral education. She has repeatedly visited the Yasukuni Shinto shrine, a symbol of Japanese militarism: visits by high-ranking Japanese officials to the Yasukuni shrine traditionally provoke a sharp reaction in Beijing, Seoul, and Pyongyang and are seen as an insult to countries that suffered from Japanese occupation. She has also been critical of China’s economic policies and has advocated for reducing economic dependence on China.
