The Italian government will open entry for all types of travel for Ukrainian citizens from July 31, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“Everyone asked when Italy would open. I answer that Italy has been restoring visa-free travel for Ukrainians since July 31 according to the recommendation of the EU Council. There is a nuance, five days of self-isolation upon arrival. But even self-isolation cannot spoil emotions when you are in Italy,” Kuleba said on Twitter on Friday.
According to the information on the website of the Consular Service of Ukraine, since July 31, Ukraine has been included in the list of countries of D category, which provides for the opportunity to visit the territory of the Italian Republic for any purpose, including tourism.
At the same time, those wishing to visit Italy should take into account the mandatory requirements: the presence of a certificate of a negative result of molecular or rapid testing for COVID-19, which must be done at least 72 hours before arrival; fill out the online Passenger Locator Form on the website: https://app.euplf.eu/; upon arrival in Italy, citizens must self-isolate for five days, after which they must retest for COVID-19, which must confirm a negative result.
These conditions will be valid until August 30, 2021.
Metinvest, an international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group of companies, is exploring the possibility, together with Itlay’s Danieli, to build a new rolling mill in Italy.
Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said at a press conference devoted to the company’s 15th anniversary held in Kyiv on Wednesday that the project involves the construction of a new production facility in Italy, where Ukrainian slabs will be rolled into hot-rolled flat products.
“The Metinvest Group is really exploring the possibility of building a rolling mill in Italy,” Ryzhenkov said.
At the same time, he recalled that the group already has two plants in Italy, where flat-rolled products are produced from Ukrainian slabs. And Metinvest has always noted that this market is interesting and promising for the company.
“But Metinvest has not made a final decision on this project,” the top manager said.
According to him, now the project is at the pre-feasibility stage, negotiations are also underway with the owners of the site, and the construction of a plant is planned.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine – in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, in European countries. In particular, in Bulgaria it has Promet Steel plant with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes of rolled metal per year, in Italy – Metinvest Trametal and Ferriera Valsider with a total annual capacity of 1.2 million tonnes. In the U.K., the company owns Spartan UK plant that is capable to produce 200,000 tonnes of rolled steel annually.
The main shareholders of Metinvest are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage the company.
Ukraine is ready to develop inter-parliamentary cooperation with Italy, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Razumkov said during a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Italian Republic to Ukraine Pier Francesco Zazo. “We are ready to deepen relations between the Ukrainian parliament and our partners from Italy. Both with the Senate and with the Chamber of Deputies,” the parliament’s office press service said, citing Razumkov.
The chairman of the Verkhovna Rada also said it is important to intensify interaction between Ukraine and Italy at the level of friendship groups.
During the meeting, the sides discussed the reform process in Ukraine.
“Reforms in Ukraine continue. This is not happening quickly, however, the main thing is quality. Something we have already managed to do, something is still in the implementation mode,” the chairman of the parliament said.
He said a bill is currently being considered in the session hall that will help implement land reform. At the same time, judicial and anti-corruption reforms continue.
The sides also discussed the situation in the east of Ukraine. Razumkov thanked Italy for the unchanged position on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
“The principled position on sanctions pressure is very important for us. As practice has shown, this particular mechanism is one of the most effective. It is not fast, but we see its effectiveness,” Razumkov said, adding that the situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea, in particular, with regard to human rights violations, continues to deteriorate.
In addition, during the discussion, the issue of Ukraine’s European integration and Euro-Atlantic aspirations was raised.
“The integration of Ukraine into the EU, NATO is not just words, these are principles that are enshrined in the Constitution of our state. Therefore, we count on the support of Italy,” the Verkhovna Rada chairman said.
At the same time, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to Ukraine Pier Francesco Zazo said that in order to establish effective inter-parliamentary relations, it would be advisable to establish direct communication between the parliaments of our countries.
In addition, Ukraine and Italy, according to him, have significant economic potential. At the same time, it is important for Italy to continue the reform process in our country, in particular, the reform of the judicial procedure, because this will allow attracting Italian investments.
Alliance Energo Trade LLC (AET, Kyiv) on October 2 and October 8 accepted tankers from Greece and Italy with a cargo of 4,000 tonnes and 3,800 tonnes of bitumen in the port of Mykolaiv, the company has said on Facebook.
By the end of the active construction season, the company expects four more shipments of bitumen from Greece and Italy.
“This is our first experience in the supply of road bitumen by sea. By the end of the active construction season, we expect four more shipments from Greece and Italy. This will provide our partners with high quality bitumen in full,” the company said.
The AET said that in order to receive sea batches of bitumen, investment projects were implemented for the construction of an automobile overpass for loading in the port of Mykolaiv on the territory of the shipyard.
The unloading of the second tanker was attended by about 60 bitumen carriers of the company, which went to road construction sites in Mykolaiv, Kherson, Odesa, Zaporizhia, Cherkasy and Kirovohrad regions.
Alliance Energo Trade was founded in 2012. Its ultimate beneficiary is Roman Adamov. The company operates in the field of international trading, large and small wholesale, delivering from Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, as well as through sea terminals.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky by his decree appointed Yaroslav Melnyk as Ambassador of Ukraine to the Italian Republic.
“To appoint Yaroslav Volodymyrovych Melnyk as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Italian Republic,” according to the text of decree No. 399/2020 dated September 21, released on the presidential website.
The son of Motor Sich’s Honorary President Oleksandr Bohuslayev has bought the Gallinara Island in the Ligurian Sea near the Italian Riviera from several owners for more than EUR 10 million.
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera’s website, the deal on the acquisition was concluded by the Galinette company from Monaco, belonging to a 42-year-old native of Zaporizhia with Grenada citizenship, Oleksandr Bohuslayev, allegedly the son of PJSC Motor Sich’s honorary president, MP Viacheslav Bohuslayev.
According to the publication, the turtle-shaped island, about 0.5 km long, is located 1.5 kilometers from the coast between the towns of Albenga and Alassio and is a nature reserve closed for tourists. The island was previously owned by wealthy Italian bankers.
“Significant debts to the tax authorities, partners’ economic problems – the sale [of the island] is overdue. Bohuslayev entered into negotiations in May, and on July 17 the deal went through. Ideally, Bohuslayev can now plant a Ukrainian [or Grenada] flag on the top of the turtle island,” the article says.
PJSC Motor Sich is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of aircraft engines, as well as industrial gas turbine plants. The company delivers its products to more than 100 countries worldwide.
Until recently, the largest individual shareholder of PJSC Motor Sich was the company’s Honorary President, MP Viacheslav Bohuslayev, who in 2016 declared the reduction of his stake in Motor Sich from 15.8% to 1%. He also included in the income earned in 2016 the investment income from the securities trader Motor-Dealer owned by PJSC Motor Sich in the amount of about UAH 1.07 billion.
