Main trade partners of Ukraine in % from total volume (import from other countries to Ukraine) in Jan-Oct.
SSC of Ukraine
French sportswear brand Decathlon, part of the international Auchan Group, will open a new store in the Prospekt shopping and entertainment complex in the spring of 2021, expanding its network in Ukraine to three stores.
“Another bright opening of a new tenant, the French brand Decathlon, is planned in Prospekt shopping mall scheduled for the spring of 2021. This will be the first Decathlon residence on the left bank of Kyiv,” the Arricano company said in a press release.
According to the press release, the area of the new store will be about 2,000 square meters.
The first Decathlon outlet with an area of 2,500 square meters was located in phase one of Retail Park Petrivka in March 2019. The construction of the store lasted four months, the investment amounted to EUR 1 million. The second store, with an area of 3,000 square meters, was opened in November 2019 near the Lavina Mall.
In addition, Decathlon has launched an online store, and delivery is available to all regions of Ukraine. The Decathlon Drive service also operates in the store located in Berkovetska Street.
The first Decathlon store opened in 1976 in France. The brand currently has more than 1.5 stores in 56 countries. Some 99% of the products in the chain’s stores are products of their own brands.
The tourism industry of Ukraine in 2020 saw about UAH 60 billion damage due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The demand is lower today and the damage to the market has been significant. If in the world the losses of the tourism industry amounted to about $ 800 billion, then in Ukraine, according to our calculations, about UAH 60 billion. This is the damage that the industry saw in 2020,” the head of the State Agency of Tourism Development in Ukraine, Maryana Oleskiv, said during a press conference on assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the hotel industry in Ukraine.
At the same time, she clarified that the agency plans to publish the detailed results of the industry in 2020 in early February.
At the same time, there is still no detailed statistical data on the tourism market and its participants in Ukraine, Oleskiv said.
“For the state agency, this will be one of the priorities in the next [2021] year. In the budget that we have, which is UAH 100 million, we plan to use a significant share of funding to create a unified tourism register, where all accommodation facilities and tourist activity subjects can register and receive operational statistics at least monthly,” the expert said.
Ukraine is a strategic partner for the Republic of Moldova, and maintaining constant and pragmatic cooperation with Ukraine is an important task for Moldova, said Moldovan President Maia Sandu during her official visit to Ukraine.
“I am glad to be in Kyiv as President to restore friendship between our countries at the highest level. In recent years, the Moldovan-Ukrainian dialogue at the level of heads of state has been virtually suspended. I confirm that Ukraine is a strategic partner for the Republic of Moldova, and maintaining constant and pragmatic cooperation with Ukraine is an important task for the Republic of Moldova and for the President,” Maia Sandu said at a press conference following talks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Tuesday.
She stressed that during today’s talks, the parties had agreed to bring relations between the two countries to another level – strategic partnership.
“Today we are taking an important step towards the establishment of these strategic relations. We decided to create the Council of Presidents of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine as a new permanent format of cooperation at a high level,” Sandu said.
According to the Moldovan President, this mechanism of constant interaction will help in the development of policies and strategies, and will contribute to solving problems on the bilateral agenda, as well as to monitor the implementation of the agreed agreements.
“During the meeting, we reaffirmed our joint desire to intensify the implementation of the European integration program by our countries. This path is a strategic option for the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, and a reliable way of developing a functional state with a modern market economy in the interests of citizens,” she stressed.
Sandu added that the heads of state also spoke in favor of strengthening the Moldovan-Ukrainian partnership with the Eastern Partnership, in particular within the framework of the summit of this initiative, which will be held this year.
“We paid special attention to the issues of Moldovan-Ukrainian relations, which for a long time remained unresolved. We agreed to intensify efforts and identify mutually beneficial solutions to existing problems. In this context, we agreed to resume dialogue through the specialized institutions of our countries, including the continuation of the activities of working groups and bilateral sectoral commissions on current issues,” she explained.
Sandu noted that the presidents discussed the need to find solutions in the interests of citizens of both countries in such key areas as ensuring security on the joint state border, ensuring environmental protection, cooperation in the energy sector, regulation in accordance with international law and in the interests of both countries related to the mutual recognition of property rights, the constant and balanced development of bilateral trade, the liberalization of international transport between countries and the problems associated with the operation of the Dniester hydropower complex.
“Taking into account that the waters of the Dniester River provide life to more than 7 million people who live in the basin of this river both in the Republic of Moldova and in Ukraine, it is very important to continue the dialogue between our countries to ensure the protection and sustainable use of the Dniester River, so that its water serve both our generation and future generations,” the head of state believes.
She and Zelensky also agreed to expedite the search for a sustainable solution to ensure mutual travel based on ID cards, which would benefit the citizens of both countries, she said.
Sandu noted that one of the projects discussed during the meeting concerns the development of road infrastructure on the Chisinau-Soroca-Yampil-Kyiv highway.
“This will create an automobile transport corridor that will reduce trip time between Chisinau and Kyiv, and may become the fastest route from the central region of Ukraine to the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe,” she said.
The President of Moldova started her speech in Ukrainian. She also thanked Zelensky for the invitation to make this visit.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the Concept of economic development of Donetsk and Luhansk regions until 2030.
The relevant decision was made at the Wednesday government meeting.
The purpose of the document is to determine the conceptual approaches and main directions of the strategy for the economic development of Donbas for the creation of regulatory, institutional and organizational conditions for the formation and development of the economy of Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
According to the concept, the reboot of Donbas economy will take place in two stages: firstly, under current conditions in the controlled territory of the regions, secondly, throughout Donetsk and Luhansk regions after reintegration.
According to Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, these territories require additional incentives that will create an attractive platform for involving investments.
In particular, this is about development in the direction of the real sector of the economy, industrialization, the development of critical infrastructure and logistics.
The State Tax Service will operate as a single legal entity from January 1, 2021.
“From January 1, 2021, the territorial bodies of the State Tax Service, created as its separate divisions, begin to exercise the powers and functions of the territorial bodies of the State Tax Office, which are liquidated as a legal entity,” the service said on its website on Thursday.
The corresponding order was signed by head of the department Oleksiy Liubchenko on Thursday.
According to him, this is the final step in the transition of the service to the format of a single legal entity.
Thus, from January 1, the service will consist of the central office and territorial bodies as separate units, the department added.
