Ukraine intends to create an Investment Attraction Agency as a single entry point for investors in the Ukrainian private sector, First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliya Sviridenko said on Facebook.
“To ensure that all investors wishing to invest in the private sector in Ukraine have a single point of entry, we are working on the launch of a single institution – the Investment Attraction Agency,” she wrote following a visit to London, where she discussed its creation, including with the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
According to her, during the meeting, LSE specialists assured that they are ready to provide their expertise and help build this institution.
Sviridenko said she also met with British International Investment, which last summer at a conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction in London said it was ready to allocate GBP250 million to finance the private sector in Ukraine, mainly for post-war reconstruction.
“These funds will be available from April through the Co-investment platform. What can we do together with the private sector already now to get this funding? Prepare quality projects. For this purpose we also attract partners to jointly do feasibility study, “- First Deputy Prime Minister said.
She added that attracting investment and financing to Ukraine was also the main topic of negotiations with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the London Stock Exchange and TheCityUK, UK Export Finance (UKEF).
“We are working with UKEF to attract investments in the defense sector. We have also opened a GBP3.5bn limit for Ukraine. Several companies have already received insurance, one of them yesterday during our visit to London. We plan to expand cooperation, in particular, we discussed the possibility of insuring suppliers of equipment in the field of military demining,” Sviridenko wrote, in particular.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development has agreed with Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to extend the liberalization of freight transport, the ministry’s press service said on Thursday. According to the ministry, the “transport visa-free zone” or liberalization of freight transport with Turkey, includes bilateral freight traffic and transit traffic, the ministry said.
“Of all the exports we deliver to Turkey, about 15% are by road transport. Turkish companies import to us exactly by road transport almost 60% of the total volume of goods,” said Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction – Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure Alexander Kubrakov.
As a result of the agreement, the parties no longer need permits for cargo and transit transportation. At the same time, permit-free passage is also valid for the entry of empty trucks.
In addition, the Ministry of Transport agreed with the Turkish side to increase the number of permits for cargo transportation to/from third countries and bus transportation to 3,500 permits and 400 permits, respectively.
“We are working on the possibilities of performing irregular bus transportation – we have agreed on 400 permits for such trips. In the near future, part of these permits will be delivered to Ukraine for issuance to carriers,” – emphasized Deputy Minister of development of communities, territories and infrastructure Sergiy Derkach.
As reported, liberalization of freight transport is available with 35 countries, including the European Union. Last year, the team of the Ministry of Recovery managed to agree on the possibility with Norway, North Macedonia and extend the relevant agreement with Moldova.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal says that Ukraine and Japan have signed 56 intergovernmental agreements, memorandums, and arrangements between businesses and local authorities at the Economic Development and Recovery Conference.
“56 documents were signed by representatives of Ukraine and Japan at the Economic Development and Recovery Conference in Tokyo! Among them are intergovernmental agreements, memoranda, and agreements between businesses and local authorities,” Shmyhal wrote on his Telegram channel.
In particular, an intergovernmental convention on the avoidance of double taxation was signed; more than a dozen agreements to support Ukraine’s recovery with powerful Japanese organizations (JICA, JETRO, the NEXI Export Credit Agency and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation); grant agreements for the implementation of recovery programs, as well as a number of documents between the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine and Japanese companies providing Ukraine with various agricultural machinery and equipment; an intergovernmental memorandum on supporting Ukraine’s recovery with the
“Naftogaz agreed on a wind energy project; the Ukrainian gas transportation system operator signed a memorandum on preparations for the modernization of gas compressor stations. According to the Prime Minister, documents were also signed in the fields of energy, telecommunications, infrastructure construction, and ecology.
“Japan has already shown leadership in financial support for Ukraine. Now Japan should become one of the leaders of Ukraine’s recovery and investment in our economy,” Shmyhal summarized.
The meeting between Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will take place on Wednesday, January 24, in Uzhhorod, Slovak media outlet Denník N reported on Saturday.
“…on Wednesday morning, I am in Ukraine with Shmyhal,” Fico said, speaking about his work plans for the coming week.
The publication reports that “Fico will meet with the Prime Minister of Ukraine in Uzhhorod.”
As noted, in early December, Fico already had a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart. He summarized the content of the phone call in his Facebook status, saying that he “makes it impossible to supply weapons” but “supports the European perspective of Ukraine and Moldova, but together with the countries of the Western Balkans.” Fico also stated that Slovakia is interested in “helping Ukraine in the humanitarian and civilian sphere.”
Fico also reportedly noted the reluctance of the Ukrainian side to hold a press conference.
Last week, it was reported that Ukrainian Prime Minister Shmyhal also announced a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Fico in the coming weeks to “discuss all the pressing issues and remove possible obstacles to the implementation of the Ukraine Facility.”
An agreement on the development of electronic communications, 5G corridors and cooperation in the field of digitalization between Ukraine and Romania was signed by Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development and Minister of Digital Transformation, and Bogdan-Gruia Ivan, Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitization.
“This will allow the exchange of experience between Ukrainian and Romanian specialists, as well as the implementation of joint projects for the development of telecommunications infrastructure, digitalization, and cybersecurity,” the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine (MinCyber) said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the press release, the parties agreed to jointly develop 5G corridors between Ukraine and Romania, cloud infrastructure for public e-services, restore and modernize digital infrastructure affected by Russian aggression, increase the resilience and security of information and communication technologies, and strengthen cybersecurity of national networks and digital infrastructure.
The Ministry of Digital Transformation noted that the agreement will allow Ukraine to participate in EU financial support programs.
According to information received by Ukrainian border guards on the evening of December 14, representatives of Slovak carriers unblocked truck traffic entering Slovakia at the Vysne Nemecke checkpoint for an indefinite period of time, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported on its Telegram channel.
“Since the end of the blockade, as of 09:00 on December 15, almost 60 trucks have been cleared to leave Ukraine through the Uzhhorod checkpoint, and another 1065 are in the electronic queue to leave Ukraine,” the statement said.
As reported, on December 11, Polish carriers ended the blockade in front of the Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoint.
The Union of Road Carriers of Slovakia (UNAS) blocked truck traffic through the only border checkpoint with Ukraine, Vysne Nemecke-Uzhhorod, from 15:00 on December 11.
