Business news from Ukraine

Saudi Foreign Minister discussed in Kiev settlement of Ukrainian-Russian conflict

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said that during his visit to Kiev he “focused on the problems of the war and the ways of its peaceful settlement.”
“Saudi Arabia would like to do everything possible to reduce the severity of hostilities. Any war ends at the negotiating table, but it should be under the auspices of the UN and with respect for international law,” he said Sunday at a briefing in Kiev.
The minister said that “President Zelensky’s peace initiatives should be at the core of the peace settlement.”
According to him, the sides “discussed Saudi Arabia’s mediation for the release of prisoners of war.” “It was a victory for Saudi Arabia, we hope to continue these efforts,” he said of the fall 2022 exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia mediated by Saudi Arabia.
According to the minister, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he gave him a greeting from the king of Saudi Arabia.

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UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT AGAINST FREEZING OF CONFLICT WITH RUSSIA

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky outspeaks against the freezing of the conflict with Russia.
Speaking at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit Tuesday night, he said, referring to a possible cease-fire, that “it doesn’t mean Russian troops will stand where they are now. It’s a frozen conflict. We’re not going to agree to a frozen conflict.”
He called the Minsk agreements the kind that led to the frozen conflict. “I am against it, there will be no such document. We did not withdraw from Minsk, Russia withdrew from it on February 24. They did, and Ukraine will definitely not go into such a swamp again.”
At the same time, according to Zelensky, he does not see the desire of the Russian Federation to achieve a ceasefire. “If we have a meeting with President Putin, then maybe we can agree with him personally. He should commit to a ceasefire, preferably public, then we can believe in it,” the president said.
He also said that “we must first take the appropriate steps to stop the war, and then diplomacy will come into play.” “It is desirable to do the first stage and we have done that – to stop Russia in its advance. The second stage is to do as much as possible so that Russia withdraws from our territory. Now we are in the second stage. The third stage is to restore as much territorial integrity as possible,” he said.
In his opinion, “where it is possible to restore territorial integrity, to find some compromises through dialogue in words, not through dialogue of weapons, Ukraine will do it, but showing its position as an equal partner in any dialogue”.
Zelensky noted that “our groups are communicating at the level of negotiators,” but “I do not really believe in such agreements.” “It’s important to talk, but until the president of the Russian Federation personally says it officially, and I don’t see the weight in such agreements,” Zelensky said.

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UN WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION: INTERNATIONAL TOURISM RECOVERY TO SLOW DOWN DUE TO CONFLICT IN UKRAINE

The recovery of international tourism after the coronavirus pandemic may slow down due to the conflict in Ukraine, experts from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) say.
“The main tourist supplying countries, the US and Asian countries, which have now begun to open for departure, are sensitive to possible risks. In addition, the closure of Ukrainian and Russian airspace, as well as the ban on flights for Russian carriers, affects travel within Europe. The need to overfly closed areas for long-haul flights leads to an increase in flight time and an increase in flight costs.
According to the UNWTO, Russia and Ukraine accounted for 3% of global travel spending in 2020.
If the conflict drags on, global tourism could lose at least $14 billion in revenue.
“Both markets are significant suppliers of tourists for neighboring countries, European beach destinations. The Russian market has also become very important during the pandemic for tourist destinations such as the Maldives, Seychelles or Sri Lanka,” the organization emphasizes.
At the same time, UNWTO experts note that it is too early to assess all the consequences of the war. Searches and bookings for flights through various channels fell just after February 24, but in early March, the figures began to recover.
“The situation of uncertainty worsens economic conditions, undermines consumer confidence, increases investment uncertainty. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), global economic growth this year could be 1% lower than forecast, and inflation could jump by 2 .5%. The rising price of oil also increases the cost of transportation services and hotel accommodation, which reduces the purchasing power of potential tourists,” the UNWTO emphasizes.

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CHINA ASKS UKRAINE TO RESOLVE CONFLICT SURROUNDING PURCHASE OF MOTOR SICH SHARES BY CHINESE INVESTORS

China asks Ukraine to properly resolve the conflict issue surrounding the purchase of Motor Sich shares by Chinese investors, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a briefing, answering a question from the RIA Novosti Russian state agency about the reaction to possible nationalization enterprises by decree of the President of Ukraine.
“China asks the Ukrainian side to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and investors in accordance with the law and properly resolve the relevant issues,” Chunying said in a transcript of the March 25 briefing on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website.
The spokesperson said that the Foreign Ministry was informed about the relevant documents on Motor Sich.

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DANISH COMPANY CLAIMS POSSIBLE LOSS OF $300,000 OVER LAND CONFLICT WITH UKRAINIAN GORODOK-AGRO

DFU Agro LLC (Hrozyne, Zhytomyr region, belongs to Danish Berry Farm) has claimed a possible loss of $100,000-300,000 if the company loses its harvest over the land conflict with Gorodok-Agro LLC (Malyn, Zhytomyr region), DFU Agro Director Vadym Shestakov said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday. According to him, the company since 2014 has been processing 1,200 hectares of land in Zhytomyr region on the basis of an agreement with the village councils on the management of the heritage. In November 2018, Gorodok-Agro rented several parcels of land, including 250 hectares, which remained in the use of DFU Agro (until 2018, this was impossible due to legislation). DFU Agro sowed this land with winter rape and rye before it was rented to Gorodok-Agro in August-September-2018. Now Gorodok-Agro claims to harvests from this area.

“We offered the company a similar area (250 hectares) of cultivated land, but they, using an ultimatum, suggested that we sell the rest of our land in these territories. In May 2019, we appealed to the anti-raider committee. In June, most of the committee members expressed the opinion that Gorodok-Agro has no right to harvest, but has the right to compensation,” the director of DFU Agro said.
He said that DFU Agro agrees with the compensation, but it has not yet been possible to agree on the terms of compensation.
“Our losses, if the opponent takes our harvest, will amount to $100,000-300,000. We are ready to harvest the crop and transfer it to a third party for safekeeping,” Shestakov said.
DFU Agro LLC is controlled by the Danish company Berry Farm, which is the owner of Dan-Farm Ukraine LLC (Khalcha, Kyiv region), one of the largest pig breeding enterprises in Ukraine. The charter capital of DFU Agro is UAH 63.7 million.

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