International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has announced the creation of the Ukraine Capacity Development Fund (UCDF) to provide technical assistance with a budget of $65 million over five years, and the Netherlands, Japan, Lithuania and Slovakia have become its first contributors for a total of $14.5 million.
“We are looking for $65 million over five years to expand (Ukraine’s) capacity development in the priority sectors supported by the IMF program. I am pleased to announce that donors have already pledged contributions of approximately $14.5 million. I am confident in your support for this initiative,” Georgieva said after a ministerial roundtable on Ukraine, which took place as part of the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, which ended on Sunday in Marrakech.
It is specified that the Netherlands’ contribution to the fund amounted to $7 million.
The official event to launch the fund on the sidelines of the IMF and WB meetings was attended by IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath, Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko, NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi and his deputy Sergii Nikolaychuk, as well as representatives of the four countries.
“These contributions will support the efforts of the Ukrainian authorities to stabilize macroeconomic conditions and restore the post-war economy while implementing comprehensive reforms that are consistent with Ukraine’s EU accession goals,” the IMF said in a statement announcing the creation of the UCDF.
Pyshny thanked the IMF for launching the new fund. He emphasized the importance of international financial assistance for Ukraine, reforming the Ukrainian economy, and strengthening the institutional capacity of the authorities.
Capacity Development Fund, JAPAN, LITHUANIA, NETHERLANDS, SLOVAKIA
Lithuania has agreed on a corridor for the transit of Ukrainian grain to Baltic ports, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said.
“Russia destroys food, Lithuania delivers it. A corridor for grain transit to Baltic ports has been approved and agreed upon, which eases pressure on the Ukrainian border and increases supplies to Africa and beyond. Cooperation gives results!” he wrote on Twitter.
Earlier, it was reported that veterinary, sanitary and phytosanitary control would be moved from the Ukrainian-Polish border to the port of Klaipeda (Lithuania) for all agricultural cargoes heading to this port within two days. This will speed up transit through Poland.
Ukraine and Lithuania intend to resume passenger rail transportation on the Kyiv-Warsaw-Vilnius route, move veterinary and phytosanitary inspections of transit cargo from Ukrainian-Polish border crossings to the port of Klaipeda, and start Ukrainian airlines flying from the country’s airports, Deputy Minister of Community, Territorial and Infrastructure Development Oleksandra Azarkhina wrote on Facebook.
According to her, these issues were discussed at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Ukrainian-Lithuanian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation chaired by Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov and Minister of Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania Aushrine Armonaitė.
“Regarding cooperation in the transport sector, we discussed the main directions of restoring and expanding transport links between Ukraine and Lithuania. Namely: the possibility of resuming passenger transportation by rail and further development of the Kyiv-Warsaw-Vilnius route; bilateral cooperation with the involvement of EU institutions to include Yahodyn-Dorogousk in the Trans-European Transport Network; transfer of veterinary and phytosanitary inspections of transit cargo from Ukrainian-Polish border crossings to the port of Klaipeda; development of new routes for the transportation of goods through Poland, which will increase cargo turnover and expand the range of railroad services.
It is noted that, according to the Lithuanian side, the facilitation of procedural requirements at the Ukrainian-Polish border will allow transporting up to 500 thousand tons of Ukrainian agricultural products per year to the port of Klaipeda. Lithuania also plans to install bogie change terminals for railroad tracks, which will also help increase cargo turnover between the two countries.
In addition to the development of railway communication, the Lithuanian side suggested that Ukrainian airlines consider starting operations in Lithuania and participating in national tenders for strategic destinations.
“We have agreed to deepen cooperation in the aviation sector and hope to resume air travel between Lithuania and Ukraine in the near future,” Azarkhina wrote.
Earlier, Lithuania confirmed the need for the EU to subsidize the transportation of Ukrainian grain through Klaipeda.
KYIV, LITHUANIA, passenger rail transportation, UKRAINE, VILNIUS, WARSAW
Lithuania on Friday handed over 4.5 million units of ammunition to Ukraine, the country’s Defense Ministry said.
According to the ministry, the military aid transferred by Lithuania to Ukraine until the fall of this year includes Mi-8 helicopters, L-70 anti-aircraft guns with ammunition, M113 armored personnel carriers, millions of rounds of ammunition, and ammunition for grenade launchers.
In the near future, Ukraine will also receive launchers of NASAMS mobile air defense missile systems, anti-drone systems, logistics and other auxiliary equipment.
The Ministry of Defense noted that, in addition to the transfer of military equipment, Lithuania is actively training Ukrainian soldiers, providing medical and rehabilitation assistance, and consulting experts.
Lithuania’s assistance to Ukraine has reached EUR 0.5 billion since the end of February 2022 and will continue, the ministry said. A military aid package of EUR200 million is envisaged for 2024-2026. The total amount of Lithuania’s assistance to Ukraine is more than EUR1 billion, or more than 1.2% of the country’s gross domestic product, half of which is military aid.
Lithuania has transferred a new military aid package worth 41 million euros to Ukraine, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
According to the Defense Ministry, the package includes Carl Gustaf ammunition, rifles, maritime surveillance radar kits, 5.56 mm caliber ammunition, generators, and antidrones, among others.
NASAMS rocket launchers will also be transferred to Ukraine.
“Lithuania’s contribution to Ukraine’s freedom struggle has already amounted to millions of rounds of ammunition and thousands of weapons, and in return, valuable lessons have been learned and Lithuania’s defense has been strengthened. Lithuania continues to provide unwavering support to Ukraine, which today celebrates the 32nd anniversary of its independence, and the total amount of military assistance provided to Ukraine since the beginning of the war has already exceeded half a billion euros,” the press release quoted Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas as saying.
According to the Defense Ministry, in the first seven months of this year, Lithuania supplied Ukraine with Mi-8 helicopters, L-70 anti-aircraft guns with ammunition, M113 armored personnel carriers, millions of rounds of ammunition, and ammunition for grenade launchers.
“Lithuania also provides expert advice, contributes to international funds to support Ukraine, contributes to the training of Ukrainian soldiers, holds courses for them, and Lithuanian military instructors participate in Operation Interflex, during which, together with other NATO allies, train Ukrainian soldiers in the subtleties of combat,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also noted that medical and rehabilitation institutions of the country had received about 200 wounded Ukrainian servicemen and planned to receive more.
Nova Posta Group of Companies has launched an opportunity to call a courier to the address in Lithuania to send documents and parcels up to 30 kilograms to Ukraine, the group’s press service said on Thursday.
According to the release, the courier can be called to any address throughout Lithuania: even in places where there are no Nova Post offices yet.
It is indicated that the call costs EUR3.5 to the cost of delivery to Ukraine, but until August 13, a 30% discount is given for delivery from Lithuania to Ukraine.
To call a courier in Lithuania, you need to prepare a parcel for shipment, fill out an application for courier call on the website, application or business cabinet, pay for the order and give it to the courier in closed form.
“Nova Posta” reminds that sending a parcel from Lithuania is subject to customs duty and 21% VAT if the value of the parcel exceeds EUR45. Therefore, in the application form you should fill in the contents of the shipment, the declared or market value of each item. If the real value will differ from the declared value, the customs service may revalue and charge additional customs payments to the recipient.
As reported, Nova Post opened the first NovaPost branch in Lithuania on March 20 this year. Outside Ukraine, the group also already operates in Poland, Czech Republic, Moldova, Romania and Germany.
At the beginning of July, the NovaPost network included more than 10 thousand outlets and over 14 thousand post offices.
According to Standard-Rating, Novaya Posta’s revenue in the first quarter of 2023 increased 2.1 times to UAH 8 billion 83.1 million, EBITDA – almost 4.4 times to UAH 1 billion 307.8 million, and net profit – almost eight times to UAH 1 billion 54.91 million.
