The Norwegian authorities, following Finland, are considering the possibility of closing the Russian-Norwegian border for Russian citizens to cross it against the backdrop of a full-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, the country’s government said on Friday.
“If necessary, we will quickly close the border, the changes can take effect as soon as possible. Compared to Finland, fewer people arrive in Norway, and the situation is different here. Storskog is the only border crossing with Russia. We are in close dialogue with the police and customs about the situation at the border and carefully screening everyone who arrives,” Minister of Justice and Emergencies Emily Enger Mehl explained.
As noted in the government, the partial mobilization announced in Russia and a possible travel ban for Russian citizens may increase the risk of illegal border crossing by the Russian Federation against the backdrop of Russia’s escalation of military aggression in Ukraine. From Friday, police helicopters will overfly the Finnmark region. The police also control Storskog and the area beyond.
According to the Minister of Justice and Emergencies, the police helicopter is a useful tool for monitoring the border area from the Norwegian side.
The authorities also recalled that in May, Norway tightened the requirements for issuing visas to Russians, in particular, there were significantly fewer tourist visas issued.
Norway has transferred 14 IVECO LAV III armored patrol vehicles to Ukraine, according to the Norwegian government website.
The Government of the country noted that armored vehicles are in demand by the Ukrainian authorities and are supplied in addition to other military equipment, such as artillery, portable anti-aircraft missile system (MANPADS) and armored personnel carriers, which Norway has already transferred to Ukraine earlier.
Armored vehicles have good mobility and protection, and belong to the same type used by Norwegian forces in Afghanistan.
“Norway continues to contribute to the struggle of Ukrainians for freedom. The government is constantly assessing how Norway can provide further support to Ukraine in protecting the country from Russia’s invasion,” Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said.
The Ukrainian delegation during the WTO ministerial conference held about two dozen bilateral talks on possible trade liberalization and removal of existing barriers, in particular, in trade in agricultural products, Deputy Economy Minister – Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka said.
“The main conclusion is that the world believes in Ukraine and is ready to open markets for Ukrainian products. This means that the world believes in our victory over the aggressor,” he wrote on Facebook after the conference.
Kachka also said that Ukraine has sent a request to the European Free Trade Association (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) to update the free trade agreement, and it will be considered next week within the framework of the EFTA institute.
According to the trade representative, he discussed further steps to liberalize trade, having carried out preparatory work right at the conference, with Canadian Minister of International Trade Mary Ng.
Kachka added that he agreed with the Minister of Trade of Australia in a few days after the conference to discuss in detail the possibilities of liberalizing bilateral trade (GSP and FTA).
The Ukrainian trade representative also said that he had discussed the conclusion of an agreement on digital trade with UK Secretary for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
“The same issue – trade liberalization and digital trade – were relevant in a conversation with the Minister of Trade of Singapore. Singapore is ready to become a hub for trade in Ukrainian products in Asia,” Kachka added.
According to him, at a meeting with the Minister of Trade of Senegal, he emphasized that Ukraine is doing everything to increase exports and feed Africa.
“Senegal is chairing the African Union this year and their understanding of the true causes of food problems is very important,” the Ukrainian trade representative said.
AUSTRALIA, CANADA, ICELAND, LIECHTENSTEIN, NORWAY, SWITZERLAND, TRADE LIBERALIZATION
Kormotech LLC (Lviv region), a large Ukrainian manufacturer of cat and dog feed, has signed a three-year contract with the Norwegian online store Dyrekassen on the supply of a pet ration. According to a press release of Kormotech, through the Dyrekassen online store, an exclusive distributor, the company plans to sell 18 tonnes of feed by the end of 2020. It is planned to sell another 100 tonnes of products over the next two years.
Together with a new partner, Kormotech is also working to ensure that after lockdown Optimeal rations are sold in garden centers in Norway and Sweden. This is about 220 stores.
The company said that these are dry and wet rations for cats and dogs under the Optimeal brand in the super premium segment. They are made according to the Swiss fresh meat technology.
Kormotech said that Norway has become the 29th pet export country.
“We are actively working to enter export markets throughout Scandinavia. These are countries with very high quality requirements for products. We have overcome similar complexity procedures to enter the U.S. and UK markets. Kormotech is on the way to getting into the top five world manufacturers of pet feed,” the company said, citing CEO of Kormotech Rostyslav Vovk.
Kormotech LLC is the leading Ukrainian producer of feed for cats and dogs. The company exports products to 29 countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Iran and Chile.
The ultimate beneficiaries of Kormotech are Olena and Rostyslav Vovk.
The Ukrainian architectural company Archimatika (Kyiv) has opened the office Archimatika Norge AS. in Oslo, Norway, the company said on its Facebook page.
“We are pleased to announce that Archimatika has opened an office in Oslo – Archimatika Norge AS. Our Norwegian department consists of nine experienced architects, but it will have all Archimatika resources in Kyiv with more than 250 architects, designers and engineers,” the company noted.
According to the report, Archimatika Norge AS will provide services of urban planning, designing of residential, office, commercial real estate, territory planning, research, technical supervision, development of technical documentation and supervision of construction projects.
Currently, the office in Norway has already taken up several projects at various stages, including, in particular, territory planning and preparation of documents.
Archimatika was founded in 2005 by architects Dmytro Vasilyev and Oleksandr Popov.
According to the company, more than 7.6 million square meters of residential and public buildings were designed during its operation. The project portfolio at the design stage as of December 2019 consists of more than 3.5 million square meters.
The company employs 270 people. Currently (December 2019), the company has three offices in Kyiv, Moscow, and Oslo.
Ukraine and Norway have signed a joint statement on nuclear security, “green” energy and energy efficiency, Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman has said.
“During the business forum, together with head of the Norwegian government Erna Solberg, we signed a joint statement launching important energy initiatives on energy efficiency, integration into the European energy market, cooperation in nuclear safety and “green” energy,” Groysman wrote on Twitter on Monday.
