The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a draft law on ratification of an agreement on the development of cooperation with Turkey.
The government took a corresponding decision at a meeting on Wednesday.
According to the explanatory note to the draft law available to Interfax-Ukraine, the implementation of the document will favor the implementation of technical cooperation projects – the transfer of know-how, training of personnel, the supply of equipment and materials, and will also contribute to financial projects and grants to finance the supply of goods, equipment and materials.
The agreement also provides for the creation of a Programs Coordination Office of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in Ukraine.
State-owned enterprise Spetstechnoexport and Turkey’s defense company Aselsan have signed a memorandum confirming plans to start production of Turkish tactical communications devices in Ukraine. An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that the sides signed the document at the 15th international specialized exhibition Arms and Security 2018 opened in Kyiv on October 9.
Spetstechnoexport Head Vladyslav Belbas told Interfax-Ukraine that the signed document confirms mutual commitments of the parties outlined in the offset agreement signed by Spetstechnoexport and Aselsan in July in Ankara after a meeting of the bilateral intergovernmental commission for defense cooperation. The details of the project are being approved.
As reported, in October 2017, Aselsan and Spetstechnoexport signed a government-guaranteed contract in Kyiv for the amount of $43.635 million for delivery of tactical communications to be used in the USB band in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2018 as part of the government defense procurement order. According to Ukrainian legislation, purchases of defense imports under the government defense procurement order amounting to more than $5 million provide for the conclusion of an offset agreement.
ASELSAN, COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES, PRODUCTION, TACTICAL, TURKEY
The Verkhovna Rada has ratified the agreement between the governments of Ukraine and the Republic of Turkey on mutual assistance and investment protection, which provides Ukrainian and Turkish investors with assistance in use of investments, as well as secures guarantees against illegal expropriation and nationalization. Some 244 people’s deputies supported the corresponding bill with the quorum being 226 votes.
According to the website of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the agreement also provides for the free transfer of payments and the application of internationally recognized dispute settlement procedures.
In addition, the parliament ratified the trade agreement between Ukraine and the Kingdom of Thailand.
The corresponding bill, providing for the creation of a special intergovernmental commission on trade, was supported by 241 people’s deputies.
The devaluation of the Turkish lira in the near future will not lead to sharp price fluctuations in export and import transactions between Ukraine and Turkey, but there are fears of a decrease in the revenues of Ukrainian exporters that supply goods to the Turkish market, the Ukrsadprom association has reported. “The main export goods for each country are largely tied to a stable foreign currency and depend more on the situation on the global market rather than on changes in the domestic market. Therefore, in the short term, at least until the end of this year, it’s not worth expecting sharp price fluctuations in export and import operations with Turkey,” the association’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.
At the same time, according to Ukrsadprom experts, there are some concerns about the possible transition of Turkey in payments on foreign economic transactions with its main partners, including Ukraine, from the U.S. dollar to the national currency.
“We are currently considering the possibility of Turkey’s transition to settlements in foreign economic transactions with its main partners … This could cause inconvenience both in the settlement mechanism itself, and in setting prices and the appropriate exchange rate, because, according to most expectations, the Turkish lira will continue depreciating. As a consequence, there is a possibility of lower revenues for Ukrainian exporters,” Ukrsadprom indicates. However, in addition, there are grounds for a certain reduction in import prices for Ukraine when making purchases in Turkey, the association noted.
Ukrsadprom said Turkey is one of the largest importers of domestic agro-food products. For the first six months of this year, Ukraine exported agricultural products to Turkey for $458 million.
Ukraine in the first half of 2018 exported fruit and berries worth $100 million, which is 59% more than in the same period of 2017. According to the Ukrsadprom association, the main products in the structure of exports remain walnuts worth $64 million, frozen berries for $23 million, apples and pears for $8 million. “Compared with last year, the volume of walnut exports increased from 12,000 to 19,000 tonnes, apples and pears from 6,000 to 24,000 tonnes, while the deliveries of frozen berries decreased slightly from 17,000 to 14,000 tonnes,” the report says.
The main buyers of Ukrainian gardening products, according to the association, are the countries of the European Union, which account for more than 60% of the value of exports.
“In the six months, the largest fruit supplies in monetary terms from Ukraine were made to Poland for $11.2 million, France for $9.9 million, Turkey for $9.3 million, Belarus for $8 million, Germany for $5.1 million, Greece for $5 million and the Netherlands for $4.7 million,” the report says.
As noted, Ukrainian apples are mostly delivered to Belarus (46% of the value of supplies), Moldova (21%), and Sweden (10%).
BELARUS, BERRY, EXPORT, FRANCE, FRUIT, GERMANY, POLAND, TURKEY
Turkey’s resorts remain most popular in the number of charter flights from Ukraine in the 2018 tourist season, and around 80 charter flights to this country is serviced from Ukrainian airports every week.
Analysts from TripSee online service told Interfax-Ukraine that the share of charter flights to Turkey in the 2018 tourist season is 72-75% of all charter programs of tour operators working in Ukraine.
About 15-20% of the charter programs of Ukrainian tour operators are flights to Egypt, then Greece, Bulgaria and Tunisia.
Analysts of TripSee also said that in 2018, new charter destinations for the resorts of Italy – to Calabria and Ancona, as well as to the Peloponnese Peninsula in Greece – were launched from Ukraine.
“Only one operator has several flights a day to Turkey, so the client can choose the most convenient time for departure. In Europe, this year there is also a more extensive flight program. The cost of tours has increased, but insignificantly. The market has hot tours and tours for later dates,” the TripSee analysts said.
Commenting on the pace of prices for package tours in the summer season of 2018, they said that prices for tours to Turkey start from UAH 7,000 all inclusive, Greece – from UAH 10 thousand per person with breakfasts, to Spain – from UAH 12 thousand with breakfasts and dinners.
At the same time, the analysts from TripSee said that, as before, most customers are looking for hot tours, especially to Turkey, but in the season of 2018 there is a noticeable upward pace in earlier purchases.
