Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Taran signed agreements with Turkish companies on the transfer of technology and production of corvettes and unmanned attack aircraft systems for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on its website on Monday, the signing took place within the visit of the Turkish delegation to Ukraine, headed by President of Defence Industries of Turkey Ismail Demir.
According to Taran, first of all, this is about projects designed to radically enhance the combat capabilities of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to improve security in the area of the Black and Azov Seas.
The minister said these are the first in history foreign economic transactions for military goods concluded by the Defense Ministry of Ukraine.
The Defense Ministry said that in October, Taran and Demir signed a memorandum with the intention to start and implement joint projects for the construction of warships, unmanned aerial vehicles and all types of turbine engines.
Ukraine and France may soon sign an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation with ALSTOM for the implementation of a project for the supply of electric locomotives to a company with partial localization of their production and maintenance in Ukraine.
This was announced by Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, who is the head of the the Ukrainian-French Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, during negotiations with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Ukraine Etienne de Ponsen and head of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC Volodymyr Zhmak on Friday, the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
“We have been working on the details of a common project with the French side for a long time and in the near future we can reach the signing of an intergovernmental agreement that will fully meet the needs of Ukraine,” the press service quoted Avakov as saying.
Zhmak, in his turn, said during the negotiations that Ukrzaliznytsia has a very old park and it needs to be strategically updated. At this stage, according to him, Ukrzaliznytsia is interested in 50 two-system electric locomotives capable of transporting from 5,500 to 6,000 tonnes of cargo.
“We need these locomotives with a long-term system of maintenance and localization of production in Ukraine. At the second stage, we are interested in getting single-system locomotives,” he said.
CEO of ALSTOM Henri Poupart-Lafarge assured that it could be a reliable and long-term partner for Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukraine.
“We have been working in the market for many years and we can satisfy the needs of Ukrzaliznytsia. ALSTOM has experience in working in markets with the localization of production and service capacities. This strengthens our cooperation and creates new jobs. In particular, we work in this way in Kazakhstan and South Africa,” he said.
The ministry also notes that this project was founded in September 2018, when ALSTOM and Ukrzaliznytsya signed a memorandum of understanding, which formalizes cooperation in the provision and maintenance of electric locomotives. The financial model of the project involves the attraction of credit funds from the French State Treasury and other sources.
As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on October 27 met with CEO of ALSTOM Henri Poupart-Lafarge and discussed with him the prospects for the implementation of joint projects in the railway sector.
The French machine building company ALSTOM is one of the world leaders in the production of power equipment and railway transport.
Ukraine and France may sign an agreement within the framework of the Mixed Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation in the near future, Head of the Ukrainian side of the commission, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov has said.
“We have been working on the details of a common project with the French side for a long time and in the near future we can reach an intergovernmental agreement that will fully meet the needs of Ukraine. Including the requirements set by the President of Ukraine regarding the localization of production at Ukrainian enterprises,” Avakov said at a meeting with CEO of ALSTOM Henri Poupart-Lafarge on Tuesday, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reports.
At a meeting with the participation of the French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins and the general director of Ukrzaliznytsia Volodymyr Zhmak, the parties discussed the prospects for implementation of the ALSTOM electric locomotive supply project with partial localization of their production and maintenance in Ukraine.
“We have a very outdated fleet of locomotives and we need to strategically update it. At this stage, we are interested in 50 two-system electric locomotives capable of transporting from 5,500 to 6,000 tonnes of cargo. We need these locomotives with a long-term maintenance system and localized production in Ukraine. At the second stage, we are interested in obtaining single-system locomotives,” Zhmak said during the negotiations.
Poupart-Lafarge, in turn, assured that ALSTOM could be a reliable and long-term partner for Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukraine.
“We have been working on the market for many years and we can meet the needs of Ukrzaliznytsia. ALSTOM has experience in working in markets with the localization of production and service capacities. This strengthens our cooperation and creates new jobs. In particular, we work in this way in Kazakhstan and South Africa,” he said.
De Poncins said that over the past two years, taking into account the active implementation of helicopter (Airbus Helicopters) and ship (OSEA) projects of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, a humanitarian project to improve water supply in Mariupol with the prospect of its spread to Luhansk region, the total cost of all economic cooperation programs between Ukraine and France is EUR 800 million.
Ukraine and the Slovak Republic have signed an intergovernmental agreement on the provision of aviation operational services by their Ukrainian supplier in a certain part of the Slovak airspace relative to Uzhgorod airport.
According to Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy, the document was signed by him and Minister of Transport and Construction of Slovakia Andrej Dolezal.
“The full operation of Uzhgorod airport will be restored. Just now, together with my Slovak colleague, Minister of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic Andrej Dolezal, we signed an appropriate bilateral intergovernmental agreement. Finally, after so many months of inactivity, we will connect Zakarpattia by air service with other regions and with abroad,” he wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday.
According to the press service of the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine with reference to the head of the department, the signing of this agreement will also help strengthen mutual bilateral relations in the civil aviation sector between the countries and in terms of expanding the possibilities of international air transportation.
However, Krykliy expressed hope for the early completion of the coordination of technical issues related to the implementation of the agreement and the signing by the parties of the implementation protocols within a month.
The ministry said that the agreement was initialed by both countries during negotiations in Kyiv on December 18, 2019. The document takes into account the security and defense aspects arising from the membership of Slovakia in NATO, as well as from the fact that the Ukrainian-Slovak border is also the external border of the Alliance.
According to the ministry, the agreement was concluded for an indefinite period and comes into force from the date of receipt through diplomatic channels of the last written notification of the completion of the domestic procedures necessary for its entry into force.
KYIV. Sept 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Verkhovna Rada has ratified an agreement on the joint production of audiovisual works between the governments of Ukraine and Canada.
Some 318 deputies voted for corresponding bill No. 0040 at the plenary session on Wednesday.
The agreement was signed in Toronto on July 2, 2019.
An explanatory note to the draft law says that the ratification of the agreement will contribute to the intensification of the international activities of the subjects of cinematography of Ukraine in joint film production with other countries.
AGREEMENT, CANADA, CO-PRODUCTION AUDIOVISUAL WORKS, PARLIAMENT, RATIFIES
Ukraine and Spain will continue working together to conclude an agreement on a common aviation space. The issue of creating additional travel opportunities for citizens was discussed during a telephone conversation between Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation of Spain Arancha Gonzalez Laya.
“The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has consistently advocated for Ukrainians’ opportunities to travel freely around Europe and the world. We are working hard to create new opportunities for air travel between Ukraine and the EU countries. The agreement on a joint aviation space just creates such opportunities. We will do everything to conclude this agreement,” Kuleba said, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported.
Both sides stated that the conclusion of the Agreement on the common aviation space meets mutually beneficial interests and will contribute to the intensification of business, tourist and interpersonal contacts.
The ministers also discussed the importance of enhancing bilateral economic and investment cooperation. It is noted that the creation of additional business opportunities will be facilitated by the signing of the Convention on Avoiding Double Taxation between Ukraine and Spain.
The parties also exchanged information on measures taken by the governments of both countries to counter the spread of COVID-19. Kuleba thanked the Spanish government for the assistance in returning Ukrainian citizens home.
Arancha Gonzalez Laya, in turn, confirmed the invariable position of Spain in the matter of protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
