Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Chernyshov and Swiss Ambassador to Ukraine Claude Wild have launched a new Ukrainian-Swiss project UCORD (Ukraine’s Cohesion and Regional Development) with a budget of CHF 18 million (about EUR 17.2 million), aimed, among other things, at the improvement of public infrastructure in Ukraine, which is critical for the environment.
On the official Facebook page of the Swiss Embassy in Ukraine, it is specified that the UCORD project is synchronized with the adopted State Strategy for Regional Development until 2027, is designed for 12 years, and its total budget is CHF 18 million.
The key areas of support will be the institutional strengthening of the Regional Development Agencies, the improvement of environmentally critical municipal infrastructure (water supply, sanitation and waste management), as well as cultural initiatives to improve community cohesion.
The UCORD project will work both at the national level, supporting the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, and at the level of regions and communities.
At the initial stage, the UCORD team will prepare a detailed project document and select target regions. The first four-year implementation phase will begin in September 2022.
Ukraine expects to receive the first tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 600 million in late March-early April, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko has said.
“The first tranche of such assistance will amount to EUR 600 million and is unconditional. We hope to receive these funds at the end of March or beginning of April this year,” Marchenko said, speaking from the parliament rostrum during an hour of questions to the government on Friday.
“Ukraine will receive the second tranche after the parties approve short-term measures regarding the introduction of structural reforms, which the teams of the European Commission and the Ministry of Finance are currently working on,” the minister added.
He called the allocation of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine unprecedentedly fast.
“The Ministry of Finance is also negotiating with the government of Japan regarding the formation of a mechanism for involving the Japanese international cooperation agency JICA in a new ‘green’ program with the World Bank on a development policy loan, the so-called green DPL,” Serhiy Marchenko said.
He explained that the possibility of attracting from $500 million from the World Bank and up to $300 million from the Japanese government was being discussed.
Earlier, the European Parliament voted in favor of the proposal of the European Commission to provide Ukraine with new macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 1.2 billion.
British Secretary of State Liz Truss will make her first visit to Ukraine on Thursday, February 17, at the invitation of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
“The visit of the head of the British Foreign Office is aimed at deepening the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United Kingdom, coordinating further actions to strengthen security on the European continent,” the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
Kuleba and Truss will hold talks on joint measures to deter the Russian Federation from further aggression, practical support for Ukraine from the UK in strengthening its defense capability.
“The heads of foreign affairs agencies will discuss a wide range of issues of the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the UK in the field of security, including cybersecurity, as well as in the areas of trade and investment,” the report says.
Kuleba and Truss will hold a joint press conference online.
Japan is urgently prepared to provide support to Ukraine with a loan of at least $100 million as a sign of support for it in the conditions of the buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan said following a telephone conversation between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Prime Minister Kishida informed that Japan is urgently prepared to provide support with a loan of at least $100 million based on the request of the Ukrainian side, and President Zelensky expressed deep gratitude for this,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a report on the website after the February 15 conversation.
Japan has been paying close attention to the move to strengthen Russian troops around the Ukrainian border. Japan has consistently supported Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan said.
“The two leaders agreed to work together to ease tensions through diplomatic efforts,” the ministry said in the statement.
During a telephone conversation with U.S. President Joseph Biden on Sunday, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky invited him to pay a visit to Ukraine, according to the website of the Ukrainian head of state.
“I am convinced that your arrival in Kyiv in the coming days, which is decisive for stabilizing the situation, will be a powerful signal and will contribute to de-escalation,” Zelensky said.
During the conversation, they also talked about increasing the financial and energy stability of Ukraine against the backdrop of current challenges.
Zelensky said that the Ukrainian side understands all the current risks, ready for any development of the situation. “We will stop any escalation towards Ukraine. The capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, other cities of our state – Kharkiv and Lviv, Dnipro and Odesa – are safe and under reliable protection,” he said.
The President of Ukraine noted the steps taken by the U.S. and other partners that continue to provide effective support to Ukraine. “We expect that, among other things, it will help prevent the spread of panic,” Zelensky said.
He thanked Biden for U.S. support and noted the importance of providing effective security guarantees to Ukraine. “We are ready to discuss them in different formats,” Zelensky said, emphasizing that there can be no security in Europe without the security of Ukraine.
Malt production in Ukraine in January grew by 10.8%, to 18,600 tonnes.
Malt production in 2021 amounted to 218,500 tonnes, which is 19.5% less than in 2020.
At the same time, the year before last, its production decreased by 18% compared to 2019, to 275,000 tonnes.
