Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during his phone call with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi discussed steps to step up bilateral trade, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has reported.
“We are interested in significantly expanding the range of Ukrainian exports to the Indonesian market, which we also consider as a platform for the expansion of Ukrainian goods to other countries of Southeast Asia. Ukraine can also become a bridge for Indonesian goods to enter the markets of Eastern Europe,” Kuleba said.
He noted the importance of holding the fourth joint meeting of the intergovernmental economic commission in 2021 to select promising economic projects. The minister also said that the Council of Exporters and Investors under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will bolster assistance to Ukrainian companies in establishing ties with Indonesian business.
The two foreign ministers pointed out the importance of starting expert consultations between Ukraine and Indonesia to consider the signing of an agreement on preferential trade.
Kuleba also called a promising area of cooperation in teaching Indonesian students in Ukraine.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has partially slowed down the development of important projects between our states. There has been a slight drop in trade volumes, contacts between governments and citizens have become fewer. We are now striving not only to catch up with the pre-existing level of relations, but also to significantly revive them in the political, trade, educational and cultural spheres,” the minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine said.
The phone call between the Ukrainian and Indonesian diplomats took place on the day of the celebration of the 29th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Indonesia.
The ministers agreed to hold political consultations of their ministries in the near future and presented invitations to exchange visits.
The Ukrainian Embassy has opened a 24-hour hotline line to provide possible assistance to citizens of Ukraine in Indonesia, where a powerful earthquake occurred, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko said.
“A powerful earthquake happened on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. To provide possible assistance to Ukrainian citizens, the Ukrainian embassy has opened a 24-hour hotline: +62 87 88 48 90 918. There is still no information about the injured Ukrainians,” Nikolenko wrote on Twitter on Friday.
Ukraine has started preparations for negotiations on new agreements on a free trade area (FTA) with Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia and China, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Ihor Petrashko has said.
“Preparations are underway for negotiations on an FTA with Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia and China,” he said during a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
He also said Ukraine has started negotiations with the EU on revising the Association Agreement.
Petrashko said the additional capitalization of the Export Credit Agency (ECA) to UAH 2 billion, which is provided by the 2021 national budget, will strengthen Ukraine’s export positions
According to preliminary information, there were no Ukrainian citizens on board the Sriwijaya Air passenger plane that crashed in Indonesia on Saturday, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko said.
“According to preliminary information from the Ukrainian Embassy in Indonesia and Sriwijaya Air, there were no Ukrainians on board the SJ182 flight, which crashed near Jakarta,” Nikolenko wrote on his Twitter page.
The Sriwijaya Air passenger plane, which took off Saturday from the Indonesian capital Jakarta, crashed north of it into the Java Sea, official Chinese media reported.
According to a statement by the captain of the coast guard ship Trisula, the sailors found aircraft wreckage and body fragments. Life jackets and spilled aviation fuel were also seen on the water.
Earlier, the Indonesian authorities said that dispatchers had lost contact with a Sriwijaya Air passenger plane, which flew from the capital of Jakarta to Pontianak on Kalimantan island.
There were 62 people on board the Boeing 737-500, including six children.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a draft agreement with the government of the Republic of Indonesia on the mutual cancellation of visa requirements.
The corresponding decision was made at a government meeting on Wednesday.
The draft agreement provides for the possibility of visa-free travel by citizens of the countries of the parties for up to 30 days during each visit of Ukrainian citizens to Indonesia and for up to 30 days within 60 days for travel of Indonesian citizens to Ukraine.
The Solway Investment Group international investment group, owning Pobuzhsky Ferronickel Plant (PFP, Kirovohrad region), has stopped supplying nickel ore to Ukraine from Indonesia due to the export ban of this state.
“At the moment, we do not supply ore from Indonesia to Ukraine. The Solway Group is developing two ferronickel projects in Indonesia, and they provide the most modern waste disposal and closed water supply technologies,” the company said in response to a request from Interfax-Ukraine.
At the same time, they said that “regarding PFP, we inform you: the plant is fully provided, operates at full capacity and in the long term there are/are being worked out various options for providing high-quality raw materials.”
PFP processes about 1.5 million tonnes of ore per year, which was previously supplied from Guatemala (about 45% of supplies in monetary terms) and Indonesia (55%).
Indonesia announced the introduction of a ban on the export of nickel ore, first from October 28, 2019, then from January 1, 2020.
