The State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine has signed a memorandum of technical assistance with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), head of the State Geology Service Roman Opimakh said on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
“The document provides for work on digitization of secondary geological information, the development of IT architecture and the functionality of the State Geology Portal,” Opimakh wrote.
The memorandum was signed with EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink as part of the Raw Materials Week, which is taking place in Brussels with the support of the European Commission and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Ukraine. The signing took place in the presence of the Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič and the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilets.
According to the document, the EBRD is the executor, the State Geology Service is the key beneficiary, and specialists of the State Research and Development Enterprise State Geological Information Fund of Ukraine (Geoinform of Ukraine) are the contractors of the project, the head of Ukraine’s Geology Service noted.
“The work is designed for three years and provides for the purchase of equipment and the arrangement of a server room in the first half of 2023 – ventilation, physical access, uninterrupted power supply,” Opimakh informed.
Also next year, at least 20,000 geological information storage units will be digitized and published on the State Geology Portal in accordance with the best world practices.
“The implementation of the project will not only digitize and place secondary geological information in the public domain, but also significantly improve the interface for searching geological reports through interactive maps that will be posted on the State Geology Portal,” the head emphasized.
At the same time, the translation of abstracts, reports and an English-language search engine will become convenient tools for foreign investors interested in the development of Ukrainian subsoil.
According to Opimakh, the key objectives of the project are, in particular, digitization of at least 60,000 units of storage of geological reports, the development of IT infrastructure, the creation of English-language services of databases for managing geological information, the arrangement of a server room, as well as the development of the functionality of the State Geology Portal by creating sets of geological maps and cartographic services of the geological knowledge of the territory of Ukraine.
“The next step will be the signing of an agreement on the provision of technical assistance and the coordination of parameters for the volume and time of work,” the head said.
US President Joe Biden has asked Congress to allocate an additional $37.7 billion in aid to Ukraine, AP reported.
The information notes that $21.7 billion is defense aid to continue providing Ukraine with equipment and restocking the Defense Department.
The Biden administration is asking for $14.5 billion for humanitarian aid and support for the functioning of the Ukrainian government, as well as $900 million for health care and support services for Ukrainians living in the United States, and $626 million to support Ukrainian nuclear security and modernize the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The 42nd US President Bill Clinton said that Ukraine will receive even more support.
“I don’t speak for the government, I don’t work there, but I can say on behalf of the United States and the whole world that you will receive even more support,” he said on Tuesday, answering a question from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the Global Clinton Initiative .
“People see your courage and your people. People understand that we cannot change democracy, freedom and independence. I believe that we will help and follow. You will turn to us for help, and we will be proud to help you,” he said.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss will announce during a trip to the United States this week that London intends to spend at least $2.6 billion to support Ukraine in 2023, the Financial Times reports.
On her first trip abroad as prime minister, Liz Truss will tell world leaders that Britain will spend same $2.6 billion in Ukraine next year as it did in 2022, or even more, the publication writes.
Truss is expected to speak at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. The prime minister is also scheduled to hold talks with U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Downing Street previously stated that the UK ranks second in the world in terms of military aid provided to Ukraine. In particular, the Financial Times reminds, London handed over hundreds of missiles, five air defense systems, 120 armored vehicles, tens of thousands of artillery shells to Kyiv. Also, since 2015, the British have trained 27,000 Ukrainian servicemen.
2,740 farmers from Ukraine have already applied for participation in the program financed by the budgetary support of the European Union through the State Agrarian Register (SAR), according to the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food on Friday.
Farmers with a land bank of 1 to 120 hectares (with payment of up to 3.1 thousand UAH/ha), and owners of 3 to 100 cows (with payment of up to 5, 3 thousand UAH/head).
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, a total of 2,299 applications were submitted for payments in the first direction, and 437 in the second.
The agency recalled that the acceptance of applications for assistance in the two above areas will last until November 15, 2022.
At the same time, only agricultural producers registered in the GAR and meeting its criteria can be participants in the program. Currently, 11,000 users have already registered with the GAR, who can access information about existing state support programs in real time and apply for it online.
As reported, GAR is an automated electronic system available to all agricultural producers, regardless of the form of management. With the help of the registry, it is planned to provide public services, simplify access to bank financing and loan guarantee programs, as well as introduce targeted government support programs and evaluate their effectiveness.
The project is being implemented in coordination with the State Geocadastre, the Ministry of Justice and with the assistance of the World Bank and EU project “Support for transparent land management in Ukraine”, as well as the USAID Agricultural and Rural Development Program.
In the last three years, the EU has been supporting the introduction of GAR in Ukraine. With technical and financial assistance from the EU, the government has developed the software and carried out two pilot implementations ahead of a nationwide launch in August 2022.
The administration of US President Joseph Biden is asking the US Congress to allocate additional security and economic assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $11.7 billion, as well as $2 billion in domestic energy supplies to offset the impact of the war on the global energy market, writes in Friday the American edition of The Hill.
“We have rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine and defend our democracy, and we simply cannot let that support for Ukraine dry up,” an unnamed administration official told reporters.
Specifically, the White House is asking Congress to approve $4.5 billion for military equipment and Pentagon resupply, $2.7 billion for defense and intelligence assistance for Ukraine, and $4.5 billion for budgetary support for the government of Ukraine.
The $2 billion request to support domestic energy sources is distributed as follows: $1.5 billion for fuel for nuclear reactors and $500 million for the modernization of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The White House says the funds are needed to maintain the pace of assistance to Ukraine during the first three months of fiscal year 2023, which begins in early October. An administration official said roughly three-quarters of the funds previously approved by Congress for Ukraine had already been spent or disbursed.
The publication recalls that Congress, on a bipartisan basis, has already approved the allocation of more than $53 billion in security, economic and humanitarian assistance to counter the Russian invasion of Ukraine this year. The White House expects that these funds will be enough until the end of the fiscal year.
Both parties support sending aid to Ukraine as it battles more than six months of attacks from Russia, although it is possible that at least some Republicans will doubt the latest funding request.
In addition to increased funding for Ukraine, the White House is also asking Congress to authorize additional billions to fund the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, monkeypox response, and disaster relief. The emergency funding request is $47.1 billion.
