Ukraine and Canada will work on deepening economic cooperation and expansion of the bilateral free trade area (FTA) agreement to the sphere of services and investments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. “Trade, economic and investment cooperation have an important place in Ukrainian-Canadian relations, and we would like to strengthen it. Therefore, our sides will work to expand the scope of the bilateral free trade area agreement to services and investments,” he said in Toronto on Tuesday at a joint briefing with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after their meeting.
Zelensky said that in the near future these agreements will be translated into documents.
“This means that Ukrainian IT specialists and entrepreneurs from different industries will be able to better cooperate with Canada without leaving Ukraine. This means more jobs, better relations between our countries,” he said.
Real wages in Ukraine in May 2019 compared with May 2018 increased by 7%, compared with April 2019 it fell by 1%, the State Statistics Service has said.
According to the agency, the average nominal wage of full-time employees in May 2019 compared with April 2019 fell by 0.3% and in annual terms it grew by 17.4%, amounting to UAH 10,239.
The service said in April 2019 it amounted to UAH 10,269, in March 2019 some UAH 10,237, February 2019 some UAH 9,429, and in January 2019 some UAH 9,223.
According to the statistics department, the largest increase in the average wage of full-time employees in May 2019 compared with May 2018 was observed in Kyiv (22.7%), Kharkiv (21.2%), Dnipropetrovsk (21.1%), Mykolaiv and Vinnytsia (by 20.2%), Zaporizhia (by 19.9%), Rivne (by 19.7%) %), Volyn (18.8%), Poltava (18.5%), Ternopil (18.4%), Luhansk and Lviv (by 18.2%), Cherkasy (18.1%), Khmelnytsky ( 17.4%) and Kirovohrad (17%) regions.
The highest level of wages in May 2019 was recorded in Kyiv city at UAH 15,157, the lowest one in Chernvtsi region at UAH 7,819.
Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are preparing for boosting defense cooperation in the sphere of joint production of new samples of weapons and equipment, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) based on developments of Antonov State Enterprise (Kyiv).
The press service of the Ukroboronprom state concern reported that the potential of the bilateral military and technical cooperation between Kyiv and Abu Dhabi was the subject of negotiations held during Le Bourget 2019 International Paris Air Show by Head of the state concern Pavlo Bukin and UAE Assistant Undersecretary for Support Services Abdulla Al Hashmi.
Bukin said that among the promising defense cooperation projects considered by the parties are the establishment of joint production of UAVs based on the developments of the Antonov State Enterprise.
As the head of Ukroboronprom said, the reliable Antonov aircraft, capable of working in extreme climatic conditions, fully meets the needs of the military and rescuers, and it is in steady demand in the market, which was confirmed during the negotiations held during Le Bourget 2019.
“Today, the most promising market for us is the countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia,” he said, adding: “We expect that in the near future Antonov’s products will occupy a significant part of the market in these regions.”
According to the report, during the talks, the parties discussed a wide range of cooperation, including logistics support for the needs of the UAE Ground Forces.
FlixBus low cost service (Berlin, Germany) is expanding its presence in Ukraine with opening of its representative office in the country.
“I am very pleased that after several months of planning and preparation, we can finally announce our further development plans in Ukraine. FlixBus is now officially registered in Ukraine and has a team in Kyiv, it pays taxes to the local budget,” FlixBus Managing Director in Poland and Ukraine Michal Leman said at a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.
He said that the main routes of the company are routes to Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary.
Currently, trips are made only from Kyiv. However, until the end of 2019, the company plans to launch trips from Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa and Lviv. In addition, FlixBus intends to launch domestic trips in Ukraine by the end of this period.
“We are now negotiating with our partners. We are looking which lines will develop more actively. We will ask our partner if he has an opportunity of providing buses and drivers,” Lehman said answering a question ofInterfax-Ukraine.
According to the company, the cost of tickets (at a promotional price) starts from EUR 5. You can buy a ticket in the application and on the website of the company.
FlixBus began operating its first trips from Ukraine in 2017. As of June 2019, the company provides Ukraine with daily connections to Germany, Hungary, Poland and Austria. The routes are serviced by the bus partner of FlixBus – the Euroclub company.
Inflation in Ukraine in May 2019 was 0.7% compared to 1% in April, 0.9% in March, 0.5% in February and 1% in January, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine has reported. According to its data, in annual terms consumer price growth in May of this year accelerated to 9.6% from 8.8% in April and 8.6% in March.
In May 2019, underlying inflation dropped to 0.2%, while in April it stood at 0.4%, in March at 1.2%, in February at 0.2%, and in January at 0.3%. In annual terms, it remained at the level of April at 7.4% against 7.6% in March, 7.8% in February, and 8.3% in January.
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini has assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the EU will continue to support Ukraine.
“The High Representative congratulated President Zelensky on his election victory and underlined that the European Union continues to stand by Ukraine, supporting the country on its reform agenda and with respect to its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” an EU spokesperson said in a statement.
During their meeting in Brussels, Mogherini and Zelensky discussed possible ways to make progress in implementing the Minsk Agreements for Donbas.
“Federica Mogherini stressed that the European Union is ready to support the Minsk implementation with all available means. This can include the EU’s help in support of President Zelensky’s stated objective for an inclusive approach towards the Ukrainian citizens living in the non-government controlled areas in eastern Ukraine,” according to the statement.
“High Representative Mogherini also confirmed the EU’s socio-economic support to the Azov Sea region,” the EU spokesperson said.
“The European Union continues to expect that Russia will immediately release the 24 detained Ukrainian servicemen and return to Ukraine’s custody the three vessels,” the spokesperson said.
The sides also discussed the need to continue reforms in Ukraine.
“They look forward to continue the discussions and common work at the next EU-Ukraine Summit which will take place on 8 July in Kyiv,” the spokesperson said.
