President of Switzerland Simonetta Sommaruga has arrived in Ukraine with a three-day state visit by invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“For the first time in the history of Ukraine-Switzerland relations President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga arrived in Ukraine with a three-day state visit. This is the first official visit of such level for both Ukraine and Switzerland since the unprecedented restrictions caused by coronavirus have been lifted,” the Embassy of Ukraine in Switzerland said on its Facebook page on Monday.
Bilateral talks during the visit will be aimed at further development of contacts between the leaders of Ukraine Switzerland and deepening of the political dialogue at all levels. The Swiss president will also visit Donbas to which Switzerland regularly provides humanitarian aid.
“Simonetta Sommaruga’s visit to Kyiv today will begin with a cultural program dedicated to modern art and beautiful music which Mrs. President likes so much,” the embassy said.
First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova posted on her Facebook page pictures from Sommaruga’s arrival at Kyiv airport.
Dzhaparova said that the subject of Crimea and the consequences of its temporary occupation will also be on the agenda of the visit.
“Switzerland support numerous humanitarian projects aimed at assistance to Ukrainian citizens. Switzerland has invested $1.715 billion in Ukraine’s economy [as of January 2020]. The country is among top five leading investors in the economy of Ukraine, ahead of France, Italy or Austria. A major part of Swiss investment in Ukraine was channeled in industry [around 60%],” the deputy minister said.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has said that, as soon as it becomes possible, she will pay a visit to Ukraine, as an earlier visit was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am prepared as soon as the time is right to pay a visit, which has long been postponed over COVID-19 and not only because of it. I will try to restore our relations on a basis that matches the traditionally friendly ties between our two countries,” Zourabichvili said at a press conference in Tbilisi on Friday.
Georgia and Ukraine are bound by a course toward integration into NATO and the European Union and by joint projects in the Black Sea with their European partners, and any attempts to weaken this partnership would negatively affect the European integration of both countries, she said.
At the same time, Zourabichvili mentioned recent remarks by Mikheil Saakashvili, a former Georgian president who currently serves as the head of the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Reform Council, who has said he does not recognize the incumbent Georgian government as legitimate.
“A provocative tone addressed to the Georgian government by a foreign citizen working for a foreign government harms our bilateral relations,” Zourabichvili said.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador from Kyiv in May, after Saakashvili was appointed head of the National Reform Council’s Executive Committee.
Tbilisi interpreted Saakashvili’s negative remarks about the Georgian government as interference in Georgia’s internal affairs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will do his best to provide domestic businesses with cheap loans.
The president’s press service reported that on Friday the head of state met with farmers in Kherson region and the latter again complained about high interest rates for loans.
“The interest rates have been reduced to 8-10% per annum, but this is not enough to do business in a normal way. We understand everything and we will tackle the issue. At least the national banks will work for domestic entrepreneurs,” Zelensky said.
He recalled that the Affordable Loans at 5-7-9% program has already been launched and it will be improved.
“We are doing the utmost to provide [interest rates at the level of] 5-7-9%. I came from business, we took [loans] at 18-25% and that was terrible. The figures I am speaking about – we are doing our best to ensure these figures. And we will win,” the president said.
The entrepreneurs also touched upon the issue of cutting the VAT rate for a range of farming products, including livestock products.
Winemakers suggested the head of state to develop a comprehensive development program for winemaking.
Head of Kherson Regional State Administration Yuriy Husiev asked the entrepreneurs to collect their proposals and send them to the government so that it can develop a support program.
“We will consider the issue. Let’s send them [the proposals] to the government and the President’s Office – we’ll consider them simultaneously,” Zelensky said.
Representatives of the tourism industry have appealed to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the government and the profile committees of the Verkhovna Rada with the request to create an anti-crisis committee with the participation of tour operators and to facilitate the mirror opening of borders with other countries, the press service of the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE) has said.
According to the appeal, the tour operators demand negotiations between the Foreign Ministry and the countries that have opened borders for other countries, excluding Ukraine, as well as the introduction of mirror and simultaneous opening of borders with them.
The representatives of the industry insist that inbound and outbound tourism should receive equal support from the state.
“Designate professionals who will understand the difference between inbound, outbound and domestic tourism. These are concepts that cannot be interchangeable. Why are anti-crisis steps today are taken in the format of replacing outbound tourism with inbound tourism? This is not a way out of the crisis for the industry, but only a substitution of concepts, which will lead to even greater decline,” the appeal states.
According to the tour operators, more than 250,000 people work in the industry, and during quarantine thousands lost their jobs. In addition, travel companies incur losses due to penalties for the return of paid and unused tours. At the same time, the industry representatives emphasized that they do not require financial subsidies or provision of jobs.
The appeal was prepared by representatives of the tourism industry together with the anti-crisis council of public organizations and the ULIE.
The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Azerbaijan have agreed to prepare for the official visit of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Ukraine before the end of 2020, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said.
“On June 17, another round of political consultations took place at the level of Deputy Foreign Ministers of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar and the Republic of Azerbaijan Khalaf Khalafov in the form of a videoconference, during which further cooperation was comprehensively discussed, including on supporting the territorial integrity of both states and certain aspects of the policy regarding the occupied territories,” the ministry said in a statement.
Thus, the diplomats emphasized the importance of maintaining the existing dynamics of political dialogue and agreed to concentrate efforts on preparing the official visit of Azerbaijani President Aliyev to Ukraine before the end of 2020.
“I’m sure that the official visit of the Azerbaijani leader to Ukraine will be a significant impetus for strengthening strategic partnerships and will allow serious advancing implementation of joint projects,” Bodnar said.
The parties agreed to intensify the work of ministries and departments to prepare joint initiatives, programs and documents, as well as hold meetings of bilateral working bodies.
Among other things, the parties discussed practical steps to implement projects in the political, trade, economic, energy, transport, cultural, humanitarian and military-technical fields.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky plans to discuss the issue of adding dormitories to the Big Construction program with the Infrastructure Ministry, the prime minister and the Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Utilities Ministry, according to the press service of the Office of President of Ukraine.
“We will discuss with the Infrastructure Ministry, the prime minister and the Regional Development Ministry a possibility of adding construction of dormitories in Ukraine to the Big Construction program,” he said during a working visit to Khmelnytsky region on June 3, during which he checked the implementation of the program.
The head of state said that during a meeting with the rectors of the top universities on June 2 he was informed that one of the major problems in higher education is the lack of student dormitories with good conditions.
The program provides for the construction of five schools, kindergartens and sports complexes in each region, he said, adding that all education institutions should be commissioned by September 1.
“Probably, not all of them will be ready due to coronavirus, but the majority of them should be ready,” the president said.
“Our strategy is very simple: we have to build as many such important infrastructure facilities as possible over the five years given to us by the people of Ukraine and the God,” Zelensky said.
The president also checked the construction site of a kindergarten in the village of Davydkivtsi, Khmelnytsky district. He was told that the total cost of the project is more than UAH 27 million, as well as that the building was 65% ready at that moment and it would be put in operation by September 1.
