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.
President of the European Council Charles Michel said that the European Council has decided to start negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU.
“The European Council has decided to start negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova. The European Council has granted candidate status to Georgia. And the EU will start negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina as soon as the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved, and invited the Commission to submit a report by March with a view to making such a decision,” he wrote on Twitter.
Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer during a meeting with members of the National Council in the main committee on EU issues categorically opposed the “accelerated procedure” of Ukraine and Moldova’s accession to the European Union, the press service of the Austrian parliament reports.
“Nehammer told FPO MPs Petra Steger, Christian Hafeneker and Axel Kassegger that Austria would not agree to negotiate Ukraine’s accession under the current conditions. There should not be any preferential treatment for Ukraine, especially in relation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is also currently in accession negotiations,” the statement said.
He also noted that the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen did not hold consultations before announcing the prospect of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession.
Separately, Nehammer noted that in order for the EU to be “suitable” for enlargement, internal reforms must be carried out.
“In general, Austria continues to follow the EU line when it comes to solidarity with Ukraine, but without violating its neutrality,” Nehammer explained. “It is primarily about financial assistance to support Ukraine as a ‘state as a whole,'” the statement said.
