Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal discussed with US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo the development of bilateral trade and the reduction of trade barriers.
“Denis Shmihal noted the importance of continuing and strengthening sanctions pressure on Russia in order to reduce its ability to finance the war against Ukraine. An important blow to bleed the Russian economy and the Russian military machine should be the sanctions of the energy sector. According to the head of government, this concerns the imposition by partner countries of an embargo on the import of oil, gas, coal and nuclear fuel from Russia,” the government’s press service said in a statement.
Shmyhal urged countries to look for ways to diversify sources of nuclear fuel supplies to reduce dependence on Russia.
The prime minister also focused on the need to identify and eliminate any loopholes and potential opportunities for Russia to circumvent the already imposed sanctions.
“Russia is trying to adapt to some sanctions with the help of certain countries and companies. We will work with our partners to eliminate such opportunities for Russia,” he stressed.
It is noted6 that one of the most important tracks, according to Shmyhal, is a large-scale restriction of Russia’s trade opportunities while expanding the opportunities for unhindered trade for Ukraine by reducing import quotas and barriers for strategic sectors of Ukrainian industry.
According to him, along with the financial support of international partners, it is equally important for Ukraine to open new markets for Ukrainian-made products, in particular, this applies to products of the steel industry and the agro-industrial complex.
In particular, Shmyhal noted that the release of Ukrainian steel from US duties would allow for a stable supply of metallurgical enterprises with orders, and thousands of Ukrainian metallurgists with jobs.
COOPERATION, PM, UKRAINE, US
On Monday, January 31, the President’s Office will host a meeting of the delegations of Ukraine and the Republic of Poland with the participation of representatives of a number of ministries and departments of the two countries, the press service of the President of Ukraine reports.
“The Polish delegation arrived in our state in fulfillment of the agreements reached during the visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the Republic of Poland on January 20-21, 2022,” the message says.
The Ukrainian delegation at the talks will be headed by Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak, the delegation of Poland – by Secretary of State of the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland, head of the Bureau for International Policy Jakub Kumoch.
In addition, the negotiations, in particular, will be attended by Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov and Minister of Infrastructure of Poland Andrzej Adamczyk.
“During the meeting, topical issues of bilateral cooperation in the economy, energy and infrastructure will be discussed,” the President’s Office said.
A Ukrainian delegation headed by First Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is on an official visit to Paris, it is planned to pay special attention in the talks to joint infrastructure projects, as well as the participation of French companies in the Big Construction program and the creation Ukrainian national air carrier.
“During the one-day stay of the delegation, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine will meet with Minister of Economy, Finance and Recovery of France Bruno Le Maire. In addition, a number of meetings are planned with French partners, in particular, leading French companies Airbus, Alstom and Bouygues,” the Economy Ministry said on its wesite on Wednesday.
The visit takes place in order to implement the agreements between the leaders of Ukraine and France and in the context of the planned visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Ukraine, the ministry said.
Svyrydenko said on Facebook that among the issues of French-Ukrainian cooperation are the attraction of financial guarantees or a direct loan from the French government, the development of promising nuclear energy projects: cooperation between the Ukrainian Energoatom and EDF is essential, as well as consultations on holding the World Exhibition EXPO in Ukraine 2030.
In addition, within the signed memorandum of understanding, the parties will touch upon the issues of cooperation between the national air carrier and Airbus, under the signed intergovernmental agreement on the supply of 130 locomotives manufactured by Alstom for Ukrzaliznytsia, the organization of the conversion of Airbus passenger aircraft into cargo aircraft on the basis of SOE Antonov (Kyiv).
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky reported that he and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev had signed a joint declaration on readiness to implement specific projects in areas of mutual interest of the countries.”This is mutual support for sovereignty and territorial integrity, ensuring peace and stability in the Black Sea-Caspian region and beyond, intensifying cooperation in countering hybrid threats, strengthening cooperation in the defense industry, deepening cooperation within international and regional organizations and forums,” Zelensky wrote on his Facebook page.Zelensky said that Ukraine and Azerbaijan have historically had close and fruitful cooperation and will soon mark 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the states.The head of the Ukrainian state noted an increase in trade between Ukraine and Azerbaijan in 2021, despite the coronavirus pandemic. According to him, the countries do not intend to stop there.”With Mr. President Aliyev, we set ourselves the goal of doubling the volume of bilateral trade in the next two years,” Zelensky said.In addition, plans were discussed in detail with the Azerbaijani delegation on how to fill with new content the cooperation between the two countries in trade, economic, fuel and energy, military-technical, infrastructure, aircraft building, agro-industrial, cultural and humanitarian spheres.The parties also agreed to hold a meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation in the first half of 2022. In particular, the plans include holding a meeting of the Council of Presidents of Ukraine and Azerbaijan.”I am convinced that the agreements we have reached begin an even more effective, substantive and mutually beneficial stage of strategic partnership of our states,” Zelensky summed up.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with the Qatari delegation, which arrived in Ukraine, led by a member of the ruling dynasty in the State of Qatar, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim bin Faisal Al-Thani, and discussed the implementation of joint investment projects in the field of infrastructure, agro-industrial, tourist and hotel complexes.
As reported on the website of the head of state on Friday, the president noted the importance of the agreements signed in the field of agricultural cooperation and interaction in the hotel and tourism industry. “It is important that there are already the first results of such work – the signing of relevant memorandums,” Zelensky said.
The president noted a significant intensification of bilateral relations between the two countries, in particular, an increase in Ukrainian exports to Qatar by 75%, and stressed the readiness to ensure food security in Qatar by supplying high-quality agricultural products.
Zelensky also welcomed the initiative to create a University of Hospitality in Ukraine on the basis of the Qatar University.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal met with Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Leuven on October 13 as part of a working trip to the Kingdom of Sweden, where the parties discussed the development of bilateral relations between the countries.
The press service of the government said on Wednesday evening that Shmyhal expressed gratitude to the Swedish side for organizing the International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Anti-Semitism, as well as for Sweden’s participation in the inaugural summit of the Crimea Platform in August this year.
He also noted the support provided by the Swedish government for the implementation of the decentralization reform and thanked for the assistance provided through the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority for Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
“Diversification of nuclear fuel sources is one of our priorities in the context of ensuring energy security. In addition, Ukraine has met all the technical conditions for joining its integrated power system to the European ENTSO-E network. For us, this will be an important step towards energy independence,” Shmyhal said.
The parties also discussed issues of cooperation in the field of waste disposal and recycling.
The head of government said that investments and an increase in investment activity can become a driver for the development of economic relations between the countries. He urged Swedish companies to continue implementing joint projects in Ukraine, in particular taking advantage of the law on the so-called “investment nannies”.
Shmyhal also said that Ukraine is ready to further develop cooperation in the field of information technology, in particular in terms of digitalization and strengthening cyber security.
