Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov congratulated Igor Grosu on his election to the post of head of the Parliament of Moldova.
“Today, during a phone conversation, congratulated Speaker of the Parliament of Moldova Igor Grosu on his election to office. The victory of pro-European forces in the elections in Moldova opens up opportunities to intensify relations with Ukraine. We are interested in deepening cooperation with our neighbor,” Razumkov said on Twitter on Monday.
Metinvest, an international vertically integrated group of mining and metals companies, signed a memorandum of cooperation with K1-MET, a leading Austrian research center in metallurgy, to implement joint projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the steel industry in line with the European Green Deal.
As part of its long-term vision to develop emissions-free steelmaking, Metinvest plans to increase the sustainability of its production facilities and is interested in gaining experience of leading technologies aimed at reducing environmental footprint. Meanwhile, К1-МЕТ has profound experience and expertise regarding the implementation of research and development projects focusing on energy efficiency, the circular economy, carbon capture, storage and usage, climate-neutral metal production and other related areas in collaboration with leading industrial players, research organizations and institutes.
Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest, pointed to the group’s awareness of the urgent need to reduce the negative impact of metallurgical production on the environment.
“Metinvest is constantly looking at various technological solutions to reduce its emissions today and in the future. The partnership with K1-MET represents an important part of a comprehensive approach to decarbonizing the steel industry in the long run, and we will continue to actively explore this and other areas,” he said.
In turn, Thomas Buergler, CEO of K1-MET, said that the decision of the 2015 climate conference in Paris to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100 compared with the pre-industrial period, and the EU Green Deal 2019, which aims to make Europe a carbon-neutral continent in 2050, highlight great challenges for resource-intensive industry.
“The focus of the research and development programme at the K1-MET metallurgical competence centre is aligned with the climate targets, sustainable development goals and needs of our industrial partners,” the General Director said.
The projects combine carbon-neutral technologies, the circular economy and digitalization for sustainable steelmaking. Strategic research will also be increasingly considered to gain a deeper understanding of process flows. At K1-MET, the interaction of industrial and scientific partners helps to ensure that results from applied research can be transferred to industrial applications. The partnership with Metinvest based on the memorandum signed sets the course for this.
K1-MET (Austria) is one of the leading and internationally renowned metallurgical competence centres for ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy. It cooperates with established national and international partners from the sector to cover issues such as energy efficiency, the circular economy and carbon-neutral metal production. K1-MET and its partners are working on process solutions to advance the transformation of the European metallurgical industry.
AUSTRIAN RESEARCH CENTER, CARBON FOOTPRINT, COOPERATION, METINVEST
State-owned enterprise Antonov (Kyiv) and JSC Tashkent Mechanical Plant (TMZ), following the results of the recent negotiations and visits by the Ukrainian side of the production facilities of TMZ, agreed on a “road map” and on creation of a working group for studying the technological potential of TMZ and the possibility of organizing the production of aircraft parts and assemblies by order of Antonov.
According to the TMZ website, the start of the dialogue was preceded by a meeting in Kyiv of the founder of the investment company Welfare Investment Alliance (Uzbekistan), Alisher Abdualiev, with Director General of Antonov state-owned enterprise Serhiy Bychkov.
During negotiations between Head of the board – TMZ Director General Zafar Isokov and Antonov General Designer Oleksandr Dveyrin with the participation of the Welfare Investment Alliance leaders, the prospects for exporting previously manufactured products and the possibility of expanding the production of parts and assemblies for modern aircraft of SOE Antonov and its subcontractors were discussed.
TMZ said that it continues to produce individual parts and assemblies for the aviation industry, carries out systematic work to restore the production of components for aircraft on the basis of direct contracts with aircraft manufacturers.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Eduard Heger agreed on the need to intensify bilateral cooperation.
“Today we have agreed on the need to intensify our bilateral cooperation. Holding the next fifth meeting of the Ukrainian-Slovak combined commission on economic, industrial, scientific and technical cooperation will be an important step in assessing the state of trade between our countries,” Shmyhal said at a joint briefing with Heger in Kyiv on Friday.
In addition, the parties agreed to maximize the use of the transit potential of the countries. Shmyhal also noted that the introduction of joint border and customs control at the border is important for both countries.
Among other things, the parties agreed that cooperation between countries in the field of employment and labor migration requires additional attention from governments.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine intends to terminate the agreement with the government of the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of tourism.
The corresponding draft decision was published in the agenda of the government meeting on Wednesday.
This agreement was signed in Kyiv on July 16, 1999.
It is noted that this decision will be made due to the fact that due to Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, actual cooperation in this area has been suspended, and there are no prospects for establishing such cooperation in the future.
Some Chinese companies cooperate with Crimea on market principles, based on historical ties and practical needs, and such commercial activities should not be politicized, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian has said.
“China’s position on the Crimea issue is consistent. We hope relevant sides can properly address the issue through dialogue and consultation. Some Chinese companies, based on historically-established ties and practical needs, conduct exchanges and cooperation with Crimea on the basis of market principles. Such commercial activities should not be politicized,” he said at a press conference, the content of which was published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Thus, the spokesperson commented on the visit of the Chinese delegation to Crimea and the statement of Ukrainian MP from the Opposition Platform – For Life faction Vadym Rabinovych that this is “China’s retaliatory move in connection with Ukraine’s position on Motor Sich.”
As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, by decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), on January 29 imposed sanctions on Chinese citizen Wang Jing and related Beijing Xinwei Technology Group Co., Ltd; Beijing Skyrizon Aviation Industry Investment Co., Ltd (both are based in Beijing); Skyrizon Aircraft Holdings Limited (British Virgin Islands) and Hong Kong Skyrizon Holdings Limited (Hong Kong), which in recent years have been trying to implement the rights of PJSC Motor Sich shareholders, who are placed on the sanctions list of Ukraine.
According to the decision of the NSDC and Zelensky decree No. 29 dated January 28, 2021, the sanctions imposed for three years provide, in particular, the blocking of assets, restriction of trade operations, partial or complete cessation of the transit of resources, flights and transportation across the territory of Ukraine. Other restrictions include preventing the withdrawal of capital from Ukraine, a complete ban on transactions with securities of which they are issuers, and a ban on the purchase of enterprises in Ukraine. The list of sanctions also includes a ban on increasing the size of the charter capital of business entities in which sub-sanctioned persons own 10% or more, and cancellation of official visits, meetings, negotiations on the conclusion of contracts or agreements.
