Ukraine and Hungary will soon hold a business forum of Ukrainian and Hungarian companies, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“We also agreed to structure our interaction on cooperation programs that Hungary is implementing in Zakarpattia region. You know that both Péter [Szijjártó] and I pay great attention to the development of trade, therefore we also agreed to immediately hold a business forum of Ukrainian and Hungarian companies under the auspices of our two ministries,” Kuleba at a joint press briefing with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó in Uzhgorod on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian minister said that both countries are striving for the growth of trade, interpersonal contacts, infrastructure projects, political contacts.
“We, as you know, have a very intensive and rich dialogue with my Hungarian colleague, the goal of which is to ensure rich, dynamic and effective interaction between Ukraine and Hungary. It will not be an exaggeration to say that we have already achieved a lot in this area: we renewed trust in our dialogue, we held a meaningful meeting of the bilateral Ukrainian-Hungarian economic commission, we started to move towards the implementation of a number of common infrastructure and trade projects,” Kuleba said.
However, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that Hungary is ready to “steer bilateral relations in the right direction” and named a number of projects that Budapest is ready to implement.
“I noted to my colleague that we are ready to co-finance the reconstruction of Berehove hospital. We are ready for the reconstruction of the bridge that crosses the Tisza River, which passes near the Chop-Zahony checkpoint. We are ready to take part in the construction of a bypass road in Berehovo and its construction to the border. We are ready to open a border checkpoint. We are ready to finish the M3 highway to the Ukrainian border by 2021,” Szijjártó said.
He said that Hungary will continue to help Ukraine and noted that over six years his country has already invested HUF 90 billion in the development of Zakarpattia.
“We recognize the territorial integrity of Ukraine, we support gas supplies that go to Ukraine, we provide transit through Hungary for Ukrainian citizens who travel to Europe. And in the OSCE mission, which operates in eastern Ukraine, one of the largest groups is Hungarian specialists,” the head of the Foreign Ministry said.
Hungary will open all checkpoints on the border with Ukraine from Monday, June 29, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto has said.
“On Monday, next week, we will open all checkpoints between Hungary and Ukraine… Thus, we will ensure the movement across the border. However, the rules of entering another country will remain in effect,” he said during a joint press briefing with his Ukrainian counterpart, following the fourth meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Ukrainian-Hungarian Commission on Economic Cooperation in Kyiv on Thursday.
The minister also said that the rules for entering Hungary will not change: Hungarian citizens will be able to enter the country without restrictions, and Ukrainians will transit Hungary or move at a maximum distance of 30 kilometers for 24 hours.
Szijjarto noted that he could not voice the dates of resumption of air and railway traffic between Ukraine and Hungary so far.
Ukraine boosted its electricity exports by 4.9% in 2019, to 6.469 billion kWh, the Ministry of Energy and Environment Protection has told. Electricity supplies from the Burshtyn TPP energy island to Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania rose by 17.1%, to 4.448 billion kWh.
Exports to Poland fell 2.4%, to 1.377 billion kWh.
Exports to Moldova fell 32.6%, to 644 million kWh.
In July, Ukraine resumed commercial imports of electricity. The year’s total was 2.699 billion kWh, including 909.8 million kWh from Slovakia, 851.3 million kWh from Belarus, 630.1 million kWh from Hungary, 286.3 million kWh from Russia, and 21.1 million kWh from Romania.
Due to crossflows related to the parallel work of the united energy system in Ukraine and systems in bordering countries (accounted for under contracts signed by Energomarket), Ukraine imported 41.6 million kWh of energy from Russia and 1 million kWh from Belarus in 2019.
BUYERS, ELECTRICITY, HUNGARY, MOLDOVA, POLAND, ROMANIA, SLOVAKIA
Ukraine in January-October 2019 increased electricity exports by 1.5% (by 77.1 million kWh) compared to the same period in 2018, to 5.127 billion kWh, the Ministry of Energy and Environment Protection has told the agency. Electricity supplies from the “energy island of Burshtyn TPP” to Hungary, Slovakia and Romania increased by 10.9% (by 339.2 million kWh), to 3.442 billion kWh.
Electricity supplies to Poland decreased by 2.5% (by 29.3 million kWh), to 1.132 billion kWh.
Electricity supplies to Moldova amounted to 552.7 million kWh, which is 29.6% less (232.8 million kWh) than in January-October 2018.
Ukrainian electricity was not exported to Belarus and Russia for January-October 2018 and 2019.
At the same time, Ukraine in July 2019 resumed commercial import of electricity, the total volume of which since the beginning of this year amounted to 1.538 million kWh. In particular, 573.9 million kWh were supplied from Slovakia, 644.9 million kWh from Belarus, and 191.5 million kWh from Hungary.
In addition, within technologically exchanged energy flows linked to synchronous operation of Ukrainian power grid with the power systems of neighbor countries 29.8 million kWh of electricity was imported from Russia and 0.8 million from Belarus.
Ukraine in January-June 2019 increased revenue from exports of electricity by 17.9% or $28.792 million compared with January-June 2018, to $189.455 million, including $32.188 million in June alone. Hungary bought electricity worth $118.05 million, Poland $40.386 million, Moldova $23.487 million, other countries $7.532 million, Ukraine’s State Fiscal Service has said.
Over the period under review, Ukraine imported electricity worth $0.607 million, in particular, electricity imports from the Russian Federation were estimated at $0.571 million, from Belarus at $0.034 million, from Moldova at $0.003 million.
As reported, Ukraine in 2018 exported electricity worth $331.942 million. Hungary bought electricity worth $189.958 million, Poland $78.763 million, Moldova $53.144 million, and other countries $10.078 million. Exports of Ukrainian electricity in monetary terms in 2018 increased by 40.9% compared to 2017.
Ukraine increased electricity exports by 19.3% or 999.4 million kWh in 2018, to 6.166 billion kWh.
According to the forecast, Ukraine in 2019 plans to export 6.42 billion kWh of electricity, and this is slightly more than in 2018 (6.2 billion kWh).
Ukraine in January-May 2019 increased electricity exports by 2.3% (by 60 million kWh) compared to the same period in 2018, to 2.713 billion kWh, the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry has told Interfax-Ukraine. Electricity supplies from the Burshtyn TPP Energy Island in the direction of Hungary, Slovakia and Romania increased by 9.6% (by 161.2 million kWh), to 1.847 billion kWh.
Electricity supplies to Poland decreased by 15.2% (by 99.9 million kWh), to 556.6 million kWh.
Electricity supplies to Moldova amounted to 309.5 million kWh, which is 0.4% (1.2 million kWh) less than in January-May 2018.
For the five months of 2018 and 2019, Ukrainian electricity was not exported to Belarus and Russia.
In addition, in the first five months of this year, Ukraine imported 11.8 million kWh of electricity from the Russian Federation and Belarus compared to 14.8 million kWh in January-May 2018.
