The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy informs that from May 15, passengers flying from Ukraine to Turkey do not need to present the results of PCR testing.
“From May 15, 2021, passengers flying from Ukraine to Turkey do not need to present the results of PCR testing. The Turkish government has canceled the requirement for them to present the results of PCR testing,” the press service of the Ministry of Culture said.
It is noted that this decision will enter into force on May 15, 2021 at 00:00 Kyiv time.
Cancellation of testing will also be implied to passengers from China, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Great Britain, Latvia, Luxembourg and Estonia.
The Ukrainian naval forces took part in the initial planning conference for the training of the Turkish Navy Dogu Akdeniz 2021 (Eastern Mediterranean – 2021), which is to be held in the Western Mediterranean at the end of the year, the press service of the Ministry of Defense reported.
According to the command of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the participants of the event considered the issues of defining the general concept of training, agreeing on the previous composition of the forces, it is planned to involve. Representatives of the Ukrainian Navy discussed the format of the participation of the Ukrainian side, in particular, the involvement of officers of the Ukrainian Navy in the multinational headquarters of the exercises, as well as the training of officers onboard the Turkish Navy corvettes of the ADA class (MILGEM) during their training.
In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, an inception planning conference for the aforementioned training took place online.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal instructed to work out ways to enhance tourism between Ukraine and Turkey.
“Ukrainians are on the list of numerous tourists in Turkey, and the geography of their rest is constantly expanding. Therefore, we must consider the possibility of expanding communication, including organizing additional flights on popular routes at weekends, as well as opening communication with new cities,” the governmental press service said, citing Shmyhal.
The prime minister also said that favorable conditions should be developed to attract tourists from Turkey to Ukraine.
“In addition to large cities, it is worth considering the possibility of developing directions to sanatorium resorts that will be interesting for traveling with the whole family,” he said.
For his part, Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey Andrii Sybiha said the Ukrainian cities of Kamianets-Podilsky and Khotyn may be interesting for tourists from Turkey.
The meeting participants also discussed the possibility of mutual recognition between Ukraine and Turkey of future health certificates that are being developed in the European Union, which will help significantly increase the flow of tourists between states during a pandemic.
“Following the meeting, Denys Shmyhal instructed the relevant departments to study the issue of the possibility of increasing regular and charter flights between Ukraine and Turkey and consider ways to simplify the system of visiting Ukraine by vaccinated Turkish citizens,” the ministry said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about the importance of intensive development of tourism between Ukraine and Turkey.
“It is very important that we, [Erdogan] and I are talking about special conditions for Ukrainian and Turkish tourists, citizens. We talked about the need to really increase the level of tourism for Ukrainians and Turkish citizens. This is very important. I think especially now we have to support each other,” Zelensky said following a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on Thursday, April 15.
“Erdogan supports our independence, our sovereignty. You heard that Russia said it would restrict tourists or tourism from the Russian Federation to Turkey. It’s their business. And I think that, on the contrary, we need to increase and show that we support Turkey,” Zelensky said.
Also, according to Zelensky, during a meeting with Erdogan in Turkey on April 10, “a number of important documents were signed between Ukraine and Turkey, but support for Ukrainian sovereignty is much more important.”
“But the most important thing today, when we talk about the geopolitical issue, the issue of peace in Ukraine and the support of our partners, it is important that President Erdogan supports Ukraine, supports our temporarily occupied territories, supports Crimea. It is important that he supports our position: he does not recognize annexation of Crimea,” the head of state said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he welcomes the signing of an intergovernmental agreement between Ukraine and Turkey on housing construction for Crimean Tatars, which will allow the construction of about 500 residential apartments, including for internally displaced persons.
“I welcome the signing of an intergovernmental agreement between Ukraine and Turkey on cooperation in the field of housing construction. This makes it possible to build about 500 apartments for representatives of the Crimean Tatar people and other internally displaced persons. This is a very important humanitarian project that will bring the peoples of Ukraine and Turkey closer together,” Zelensky said at the ceremony of signing Ukrainian-Turkish documents with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In addition, according to Zelensky, “further liberalization of trade and economic relations between Ukraine and Turkey is important.”
“The signing of a bilateral free trade area agreement will be able to significantly increase the momentum of cooperation,” Zelensky said.
“This is a very important step that must be taken in accordance with the national interests of each of the countries, because we agreed with the President of Turkey that the relevant institutions of our countries will conduct a very substantive audit of all controversial issues and find a mutual compromise that will open the way to signing of this important document,” the president added.
The presidents also discussed the prospects for Turkish investments in Ukraine, in particular “opportunities for large-scale privatization in the field of investments in seaports, as well as cooperation in the energy and military spheres, including aircraft construction.”
“Our goal is the implementation of specific projects, the creation of joint ventures, the exchange of experience and technologies,” the President of Ukraine said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will pay a working visit to Turkey on April 10, the president’s press service has said.
“The head of state will meet with President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” the website of the head of state said.
The ninth meeting of the Turkey-Ukraine High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council will be held under the co-chairmanship of the presidents of the two states.
In addition, a number of bilateral documents are planned to be signed during the visit.
PRESIDENT ZELENSKY, RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKEY, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY
