A CAD 450 million (equivalent to $350 million) concessional loan from Canada has been transferred to the state budget of Ukraine.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Finance on Thursday, the funds were provided through the mechanism of the Administrated Account of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The amount of the loan from Canada is CAD 1.45 billion (equivalent – $1.2 billion). The repayment period is 10 years, the interest rate is 1.69% per annum.
Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko thanked the Government of Canada and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance of Canada Chrystia Freeland for their uncompromising support of Ukraine.
Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada Yulia Kovaliv said that the allocated funds will be used to purchase natural gas to support the heating season.
According to her, the total amount of financial assistance to Ukraine from Canada since the beginning of the war has reached CAD 1.95 billion.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has amended the Basic Conditions for State Foreign Borrowing in 2022 by attracting a loan from Canada, presented by the Minister of Finance, the press service of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine reported on Friday.
“The draft resolution was developed by the Ministry of Finance to increase the amount of a concessional loan by 0.45 billion Canadian dollars (equivalent to 0.351 billion US dollars) under a loan agreement between Ukraine and Canada, as a result of which the loan amount will be 1.45 billion Canadian dollars (equivalent to . 1.131 billion US dollars),” the message says.
It clarifies that the funds will be directed to the state budget to finance priority spending, in particular to ensure priority social and humanitarian payments.
The agency recalls that on June 17, the state budget of Ukraine received 1 billion Canadian dollars (equivalent to 0.773 billion US dollars) of a loan on preferential terms from Canada.
“These are the first funds that Ukraine received through the mechanism of the administrative account of the International Monetary Fund. The loan repayment period is 10 years, the interest rate is 1.69% per annum. The specified conditions have been preserved for additional tranches of the loan,” the Ministry of Finance summed up.
The Canadian Foreign Ministry announced the introduction of new sanctions against Russia in response to the ongoing military aggression against Ukraine.
“On July 14, 2022, Canada made further amendments to the rules on special economic measures (Russia) to prohibit the provision of two production services to the Russian oil and gas, chemical and manufacturing industries,” the document said on the ministry’s website.
It is noted that eight new industries from these sectors have been added to the sanctions list.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “any person in Canada and any Canadian outside of Canada is prohibited from providing services to Russia or any person in Russia” related to the production of metal products, computer, electronic and optical products, electrical equipment, cars, trailers and semi-trailers, transport equipment, land transport and pipelines.
The Ukrainian delegation during the WTO ministerial conference held about two dozen bilateral talks on possible trade liberalization and removal of existing barriers, in particular, in trade in agricultural products, Deputy Economy Minister – Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka said.
“The main conclusion is that the world believes in Ukraine and is ready to open markets for Ukrainian products. This means that the world believes in our victory over the aggressor,” he wrote on Facebook after the conference.
Kachka also said that Ukraine has sent a request to the European Free Trade Association (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) to update the free trade agreement, and it will be considered next week within the framework of the EFTA institute.
According to the trade representative, he discussed further steps to liberalize trade, having carried out preparatory work right at the conference, with Canadian Minister of International Trade Mary Ng.
Kachka added that he agreed with the Minister of Trade of Australia in a few days after the conference to discuss in detail the possibilities of liberalizing bilateral trade (GSP and FTA).
The Ukrainian trade representative also said that he had discussed the conclusion of an agreement on digital trade with UK Secretary for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
“The same issue – trade liberalization and digital trade – were relevant in a conversation with the Minister of Trade of Singapore. Singapore is ready to become a hub for trade in Ukrainian products in Asia,” Kachka added.
According to him, at a meeting with the Minister of Trade of Senegal, he emphasized that Ukraine is doing everything to increase exports and feed Africa.
“Senegal is chairing the African Union this year and their understanding of the true causes of food problems is very important,” the Ukrainian trade representative said.
AUSTRALIA, CANADA, ICELAND, LIECHTENSTEIN, NORWAY, SWITZERLAND, TRADE LIBERALIZATION
On Tuesday, June 7, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and Mitacs signed a Memorandum of Cooperation, according to which 60 students will do internships under the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship program this summer, Ukrainian Ambassador Yulia Kovaliv said.
“600 Ukrainian students and scientists will be able to do internships at Canadian universities. A memorandum of cooperation was signed today by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and Mitacs, and this summer 60 students will be doing internships under the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship program,” she wrote on Twitter on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday.
Kovaliv thanked the Government of Canada and Mitacs for supporting Ukraine and for the decision to stop scientific ties and cooperation with Russian institutions.
Canada will provide Ukraine with a loan in the amount of CAD 1 billion for a period of 10 years, a draft government decree testifies, and the terms of such a loan are being agreed.
As stated in Decree No. 639 of May 31, the interest rate on the loan will be equal to the base interest rate of the IMF, while the grace period will be 4.5 years.
Interest will be paid every six months after the end of the grace period, the document states.
