Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue conference, which is a key platform for security issues in the Asia-Pacific region and to hold a number of meetings, in particular with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
“Global security is impossible when the world’s largest country ignores recognized borders, international law and the UN Charter, blackmails with hunger, darkness and nuclear weapons,” the president wrote in his Telegram channel.
According to Zelensky, restoring a just peace in Ukraine, ensuring global food and nuclear security is the task of the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. “That is why it will be important for us to hear the voice of the Asia-Pacific region there,” he said.
According to the head of state, in Singapore he will hold meetings with the president of this state Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta, Singaporean investors, as well as U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
As follows from the agenda of the conference, which this year is being held from May 31 to June 2, the Ukrainian president is scheduled to speak on Sunday, June 2.
Among others, the conference will be attended by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun, French Deputy Chief of Defense Staff Pierre Vandieu, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur. Zelensky will speak as part of a plenary session on solutions for Global Peace and Regional Stability.
According to media reports, Russia will not participate in the current conference.
The Asian Security Summit “Shangri-La Dialogue” is an annual intergovernmental security forum held by the independent think tank “International Institute for Strategic Studies” (IISS), which is attended by defense ministers, permanent heads of ministries and other military leaders of 28 APR states. The forum takes its name from the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, where it has been held since 2002.
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky released the declaration of the person authorized to perform the functions of the state or local government on property, income, expenses and financial obligations for 2023.
According to the President’s website, “according to the declaration, the income of the head of state and members of his family amounted to 12 million 423 thousand 008 UAH, including income from the sale of government bonds – 7 million 455 thousand 972 UAH”.
The income of Vladimir Zelensky’s family in 2023 mainly consisted of wages, bank interest and income from the provision of real estate for rent. In total, this amount amounted to UAH 4 million 967 thousand 036.
“The increase in income compared to last year was due to the resumption of rent payments. The cash balance of the head of state’s family by the end of last year decreased by almost 2 million 800 thousand UAH. There were no other significant changes in 2023 in terms of assets, real estate, vehicles, etc.,” – reports the website of the President.
Ukraine has sent the second batch of humanitarian cargo within the framework of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s initiative Grain frоm Ukraine to Sudan with the help of the World Food Organization, the press service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has reported.
According to the report, the MV Future ID vessel with 14.6 thousand tons of flour made of Ukrainian wheat has already arrived in Sudan. It will be distributed in the form of food packages for 2 million people in Sudan affected by the war.
“Now in Sudan, almost 18 million people are facing acute food shortages. Of these, about five million are estimated by the UN to be in an emergency level of hunger (IPC4). The harvest of the main cereal crops (sorghum, millet and wheat) is 41% below the 5-year average. Therefore, food aid under the Grain frоm Ukraine initiative is extremely important to save lives and prevent an even worse situation,” the Ministry of Agrarian Policy emphasized.
As reported, the first batch of humanitarian cargo was delivered to the port of Khartoum (Sudan) on February 22, 2024. The vessel MV Ocean Dream delivered 7665 tons of flour made of Ukrainian wheat.
The donors of the shipment of two consignments were Germany, which provided $15 million, as well as Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia and Spain, which allocated $23.8 million for the shipment of the second consignment of flour.
Grain from Ukraine, HUMANITARIAN CARGO, UKRAINE, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, Судан
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will pay a working visit to Turkey on April 10, the president’s press service has said.
“The head of state will meet with President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” the website of the head of state said.
The ninth meeting of the Turkey-Ukraine High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council will be held under the co-chairmanship of the presidents of the two states.
In addition, a number of bilateral documents are planned to be signed during the visit.
PRESIDENT ZELENSKY, RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKEY, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed law No. 1150-IX on the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine, which the Verkhovna Rada adopted on January 28, 2021, the presidential press service said on Monday.
“The document creates institutional conditions to protect economic processes from the pressure of law enforcement agencies, which is supported by Ukraine’s international partners. The main function of the Bureau of Economic Security will be analytical work, not law enforcement powers. The bureau will analyze the beneficiaries of financial transactions and determine if there is a violation of the law in the circulation of funds of certain businesses or government agencies,” the president said in the document.
ECONOMIC SECURITY, ECONOMIC SECURITY BUREAU, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky plans to visit the Lithuanian capital in 2021 to participate in a conference on reforms in Ukraine, said Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine. “We hope that the conference will take place this year. The Ukrainian government and the President’s Office are already working on this. The head of state will be happy to come to Lithuania to discuss progress in Ukrainian reforms and support for Ukraine from European partners,” the President’s Office on Tuesday quoted Zhovkva as saying who gave an interview to the Lithuanian branch of the leading news agency in the Baltic region, Baltic News Service (BNS).
He also noted that currently “preparations are underway for the fourth conference on reforms in Ukraine, which was postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.”
According to Zhovkva, “over the past year and a half, Ukraine has shown significant progress in reforms, in particular, recently the President of the European Council Charles Michel noted the efforts of Volodymyr Zelensky in judicial and banking reforms, as well as in the agro-industrial sector.
“We count on a fair assessment of the process. And we count on help to Ukraine to continue this path of reforms,” Zhovkva stressed.
The Deputy Head of the President’s Office also focused on the process of Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration.
He recalled that Ukraine received the status of a NATO partner with expanded capabilities and is raising the issue of providing an action plan for membership in the Alliance.
“We understand that we have to do our homework, including reforms in the security and military sector of Ukraine. We are working on this,” Zhovkva said.
He also assured that now work is underway to deepen Ukraine’s integration with the European Union.
“Much depends on Ukraine, but not everything. We will work on our ‘homework’, but we really count on the support of Brussels and the EU member states. And here, by the way, the role of Lithuania is very important, because I hope that Lithuania has unanimous support for Ukraine’s membership in the EU and NATO, “said the deputy head of the President’s Office.
He added that the Republic of Lithuania is not just a strategic partner for Ukraine, but a “strategic friend and brother”, and both countries have great potential for cooperation.
