President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and founder of the Japanese Internet company Rakuten Hiroshi Mikitani have discussed plans to enhance the company’s presence in Ukraine, in particular the expansion of the office in Odesa and the opening of a new office in Kyiv. Zelensky and Mikitani met on June 25, the presidential website said.
In Ukraine, Rakuten is best known as the owner of the Viber service.
Hiroshi Mikitani says Ukraine is a priority market for Rakuten. He expressed his willingness to support the idea of increasing the number of investment projects from Japan.
He also approvingly responded to Zelensky’s initiative “The State in a Smartphone” and expressed a desire to cooperate closely under this project, since Viber is an integral part of the smartphone of most Ukrainians.
Following the meeting, Zelensky invited Mikitani to join the National Investment Council whose secretary is IT entrepreneur David Arakhamia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has changed composition of the National Investment Council, appointing himself head of the council.
According to a posting on the website of the head of state, decree No. 423/2019 was signed on June 21.
“The Council includes: the Prime Minister of Ukraine; the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (by agreement); the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine; the Minister of Finance of Ukraine; the Minister of Justice of Ukraine; and also representatives of the Ukrainian and foreign organizations and companies, business circles, experts on issues of attracting investments, development of entrepreneurship, specialists in the field of economics, finance (subject to their consent),” the president said in the amended paragraph 5 of the Regulations on the National Investment Council.
The Council consisting of 29 members was approved by the decree. Candidate to people’s deputies from the Servant of the People Party David Arakhamia is appointed Secretary of the Council. Also, the National Investment Council includes deputy heads of the Presidential Administration Oleksiy Honcharuk and Vadym Prystaiko, president’s advisor Andriy Yermak and president’s advisor Oleh Ustenko.
After the change of its composition, Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Oksana Markarova and Minister of Justice Pavlo Petrenko are left members of the Coucil.
The remaining 19 people were introduced to the board by their consent: these are presidents, CEOs and board chairmen of large international companies and banking organizations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during an informal meeting with journalists at the Presidential Administration building in Kyiv on Wednesday declared his intention to relocate his administration from the center of Kyiv and turn the old Presidential Administration building into an art museum.
“I want this very much. The main problem for me now is time limits. Because to build a structure from scratch is impossible. But I cannot be here, because it drives me crazy,” the president said.
Zelensky said he is looking at options which will not require taking money for the move from the state budget. He said the old Presidential Administration building could be turned into an art museum.
The European Commission is ready to cooperate with any candidate elected in the presidential elections in Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, the Deputy Director-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission, said in a comment to Hromadske. She said it doesn’t matter whether Zelensky [showman Volodymyr Zelensky] or Poroshenko [incumbent President Petro Poroshenko] will be elected, they will work with any of them.
Mathernova said that Zelensky was not known in the political sphere, therefore, the voice of Ukrainian civil society should be especially heard and supported.
If there is Poroshenko’s second term, we know that the second term is still a slightly different mobilization, a new factor for civil society, she added.
Presidential candidate of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky offers to lift immunity from the country’s president, parliamentarians and judges by one law.
“Let it sound in a populist way, but no one offered or read in the programs of other candidates the following: stripping immunity from the president, deputies and judges. It is advisable that all this should be consolidated in one law,” he said in the “Interview with the presidential candidate” program on ICTV.
Zelensky pointed out that the Verkhovna Rada can lift immunity from the president, but block its withdrawal from deputies.
Responding to the comment that the immunity of deputies and the president is written into the Constitution of Ukraine, and the immunity of judges is a “slightly different” issue, Zelensky responded: “Our legal experts and lawyers are already preparing this bill. We’ll see.”
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on January 23-24 will make a working visit to Switzerland to participate in the annual World Economic Forum, his press service said. “The head of state will take part in the session on the Strategic Outlook for Central and Eastern Europe and hold a series of bilateral meetings with leaders of international organizations, world leaders, and representatives of leading business circles of the world,” the message says. The president of Ukraine will also chair the second meeting of the National Investment Council, which will be held in Davos.
