Turkey has ratified a free trade agreement with Ukraine, Anadolu quoted the country’s official newspaper as saying on Friday.
The agreement was signed on Feb. 3, 2022, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved the deal and its annexes on Thursday.
Turkey-Ukraine bilateral trade volume in 2023 totaled $7.3 billion, Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Thursday after meeting with Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko.
According to him, the trade volume is expected to increase to $10 billion within a short period of time under the said agreement.
The main areas of trade between the two countries are ferrous metallurgy, machine building, energy, automobile and grain.
Norway allocates another €5.6 million to support nuclear safety and decommissioning activities
With the ratification of the framework agreement of the International Cooperation Account for Chornobyl (ICA) by the Ukrainian Parliament, the international community and Ukraine are ready to enter a new stage of cooperation on long-term nuclear safety and decommissioning, with a special focus on the Chornobyl NPP. In June 2024, the Rada approved the relevant law, which paves the way for a wider range of nuclear safety activities to be managed by the RSC.
To reaffirm its unwavering support for international efforts for decommissioning and nuclear remediation in Ukraine, at a recent meeting of the PFDR Donor Assembly, Norway announced an additional €5.6 million contribution to the PFDR.
Donors also agreed on the next tranche of funding for projects to improve the safety of spent fuel storage and optimize liquid radioactive waste management at the Chornobyl NPP.
Balthasar Lindauer, Director of the EBRD Nuclear Safety Department, said: “Russia’s military occupation of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (ChEZ) in March 2022 has not only damaged the infrastructure at the site, but also left a challenging operational legacy for one of the most vulnerable nuclear power plants in the world. The EBRD has a long-standing commitment to supporting the decommissioning and safety of Chornobyl, and we are determined to ensure that the significant progress made over the years through international cooperation is not lost. The ratification of the framework agreement, additional donor support and commitments to a new tranche of projects are an important statement of this renewed international support for safety at Chornobyl.”
The RMCS was established in November 2020 by the EBRD at the request of the Government of Ukraine. It was established as a multilateral fund to support the development of a comprehensive plan for Chornobyl. After the occupation of the ChEZ at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the RMSF’s scope of tasks was expanded to support the restoration of safety in the ChEZ, as well as broader nuclear safety measures throughout Ukraine.
AGREEMENT, CHORNOBYL, international cooperation, VERKHOVNA RADA
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko and Mayor of Barcelona Ada Kolou have signed an agreement on twinning between the cities, the press service of the mayor of the capital of Ukraine reports.
“Today, cooperation at the city level is very important, because it is cities that play a key role in the development of states and deepening cooperation between them. The capital of Ukraine develops cooperation with European cities. Attracts help from partners, convinces them of the need for further support for Ukraine. We must be strong Together! Ukraine’s victory in the war against the Russian barbarians is a guarantee of peace and tranquility throughout Europe. We are grateful to our friends who help. Barcelona gave Ukraine fire trucks, humanitarian aid, and provided temporary shelter to Ukrainians fleeing the war,” Klitschko said.
Kolow, in turn, stressed that Barcelona will continue to help and support Kyiv and Ukraine. In particular, the mayors also discussed cooperation in the field of public transport, ecology, smart city and culture.
It is noted that Barcelona has become the seventh European city with which Kyiv has signed twinning since the beginning of the large-scale aggression of the Russian Federation. In particular, Madrid, Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Oslo and Hamburg also became twin cities of the Ukrainian capital. In total, the capital of Ukraine has 63 sister cities.
Ukraine and the UK are planning to conclude an agreement on digital trade, which will remove barriers to trade and provide support to Ukrainian businesses, the UK has previously concluded such an agreement only with Singapore, the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Digital Transformation report.
The Ministry of Economy in a press release on Wednesday clarified that the day before, First Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov discussed this document – Digital Economy Agreement – with Secretary of State for International Trade of Great Britain Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
“The Digital Economy Agreement is a new type of trade agreement that will open up new opportunities for Ukrainian and British businesses through the use of modern technologies that will reduce bureaucratic procedures and promote the use of electronic payments, digital signatures and electronic contracts,” Svyrydenko said.
According to the release of the Ministry of Economy, the agreements involve the creation of digital infrastructure to level restrictions on cross-border data transfer, the opening of a single window for traders and government agencies, the growth of trade in services, proper protection of personal data and improved access to public resources.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation added that among the main areas of cooperation were financial technologies and payment systems, open digital markets and technical cooperation.
The Ministry of Economy clarified that the agreement on digital trade would supplement the agreement on political cooperation, free trade and strategic partnership between Ukraine and the UK, concluded on October 8, 2020.
A special agreement on transport liberalization between Ukraine and the European Union will be signed on Wednesday in Lyon, France, as part of the European Commission’s Transport Directorate’s “Connecting Europe Days 2022” meeting, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Mustafa Nayem said.
“On June 29, Ukraine will finally receive “transport visa-free” with the countries of the European Union,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Nayem stressed that this event is of great importance for Ukrainian carriers.
“Taking into account the almost five-fold increase in road transport, already in September of this year, due to a lack of auto permits, the export of Ukrainian goods could stop at least in the direction of two neighboring countries. This is hundreds of millions of dollars of losses every month; and more than a billion at the end of the year,” the Deputy Minister gave an example .
According to him, this agreement will also help European consumers to reduce the shortage and increase in prices for Ukrainian goods, as well as many European companies whose offices and production bases continue to operate in Ukraine.
The Ministers of Internal Affairs of the Baltic States and Poland visited Ukraine, where they signed a multilateral agreement on cooperation in preventing cross-border crime and restoring the sphere of activity of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine after the end of hostilities.
Estonian Interior Minister Kristian Jaani said that his country will continue to fully support Ukraine, the press service of the Estonian Interior Ministry said on Friday. This applies to both direct political and practical support for Ukraine, including humanitarian support, as well as post-war reconstruction, the imposition of tough sanctions against Russia, Jaani said.
He said that Estonia would fully support granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country for membership in the European Union.
The minister noted that the total contribution of Estonian humanitarian aid is more than EUR16 million, including support for civil society and the private sector.
Marine rescue and sapper suits, folding beds, tents, generators, VoIP phones and much more have been sent to Ukraine through the Interior Ministry of Ukraine.
“At 48 hours’ notice, we are ready to send sappers,” Jaani said.
