Ukraine and France may soon sign an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation with ALSTOM for the implementation of a project for the supply of electric locomotives to a company with partial localization of their production and maintenance in Ukraine.
This was announced by Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, who is the head of the the Ukrainian-French Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, during negotiations with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Ukraine Etienne de Ponsen and head of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC Volodymyr Zhmak on Friday, the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
“We have been working on the details of a common project with the French side for a long time and in the near future we can reach the signing of an intergovernmental agreement that will fully meet the needs of Ukraine,” the press service quoted Avakov as saying.
Zhmak, in his turn, said during the negotiations that Ukrzaliznytsia has a very old park and it needs to be strategically updated. At this stage, according to him, Ukrzaliznytsia is interested in 50 two-system electric locomotives capable of transporting from 5,500 to 6,000 tonnes of cargo.
“We need these locomotives with a long-term system of maintenance and localization of production in Ukraine. At the second stage, we are interested in getting single-system locomotives,” he said.
CEO of ALSTOM Henri Poupart-Lafarge assured that it could be a reliable and long-term partner for Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukraine.
“We have been working in the market for many years and we can satisfy the needs of Ukrzaliznytsia. ALSTOM has experience in working in markets with the localization of production and service capacities. This strengthens our cooperation and creates new jobs. In particular, we work in this way in Kazakhstan and South Africa,” he said.
The ministry also notes that this project was founded in September 2018, when ALSTOM and Ukrzaliznytsya signed a memorandum of understanding, which formalizes cooperation in the provision and maintenance of electric locomotives. The financial model of the project involves the attraction of credit funds from the French State Treasury and other sources.
As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on October 27 met with CEO of ALSTOM Henri Poupart-Lafarge and discussed with him the prospects for the implementation of joint projects in the railway sector.
The French machine building company ALSTOM is one of the world leaders in the production of power equipment and railway transport.
Ukraine and France may sign an agreement within the framework of the Mixed Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation in the near future, Head of the Ukrainian side of the commission, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov has said.
“We have been working on the details of a common project with the French side for a long time and in the near future we can reach an intergovernmental agreement that will fully meet the needs of Ukraine. Including the requirements set by the President of Ukraine regarding the localization of production at Ukrainian enterprises,” Avakov said at a meeting with CEO of ALSTOM Henri Poupart-Lafarge on Tuesday, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reports.
At a meeting with the participation of the French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins and the general director of Ukrzaliznytsia Volodymyr Zhmak, the parties discussed the prospects for implementation of the ALSTOM electric locomotive supply project with partial localization of their production and maintenance in Ukraine.
“We have a very outdated fleet of locomotives and we need to strategically update it. At this stage, we are interested in 50 two-system electric locomotives capable of transporting from 5,500 to 6,000 tonnes of cargo. We need these locomotives with a long-term maintenance system and localized production in Ukraine. At the second stage, we are interested in obtaining single-system locomotives,” Zhmak said during the negotiations.
Poupart-Lafarge, in turn, assured that ALSTOM could be a reliable and long-term partner for Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukraine.
“We have been working on the market for many years and we can meet the needs of Ukrzaliznytsia. ALSTOM has experience in working in markets with the localization of production and service capacities. This strengthens our cooperation and creates new jobs. In particular, we work in this way in Kazakhstan and South Africa,” he said.
De Poncins said that over the past two years, taking into account the active implementation of helicopter (Airbus Helicopters) and ship (OSEA) projects of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, a humanitarian project to improve water supply in Mariupol with the prospect of its spread to Luhansk region, the total cost of all economic cooperation programs between Ukraine and France is EUR 800 million.
Ukraine and China have signed a program of cooperation in the field of aerospace for 2021-2025, which consists of 69 joint projects with a total value of contracts of more than $70 million.
As reported on the website of the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU), the program was signed at a meeting of the Ukrainian-Chinese subcommittee on cooperation in space of the Commission on Cooperation between the Governments of Ukraine and China on October 22. The Ukrainian side was chaired by SSAU Head Volodymyr Usov, the Chinese – by Administrator of the Chinese National Space Administration (СNSA) Zhang Kejian.
The cooperation program will be the main one for joint activities of the two countries in space exploration in the medium term.
During the meeting, an agreement on the establishment of a joint laboratory of space science was also signed and an agreement to strengthen the exchange of information on space activities of the two countries was reached.
The next meeting of the subcommittee on cooperation in the field of space is scheduled for 2021 in China.
The Ministry of Infrastructure is mulling several options for cooperation with foreign partners on the project for building high-speed railways, according to the ministry’s website.
Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine Vladyslav Krykliy on October 16 met with the director of the Hyundai Corporation representative office in Ukraine. First Deputy Minister Dmytro Abramovych also took part in the meeting.
Krykliy noted that Ukraine is interested in cooperation with Hyundai Corporation.
“The selection of a partner for the implementation of the project for construction of high-speed railways will be carried out on the basis of analysis of the proposed conditions, which should be beneficial for Ukraine. The project requires an integrated approach, in particular, in terms of financing, timing of implementation, the possibility of preparing a feasibility study using grant funds, etc.,” the ministry said.
During the meeting, the director of the Ukrainian representative office of Hyundai Corporation announced his interest in the implementation of infrastructure projects in Ukraine.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the use of rolling stock on high-speed railways and models for financing infrastructure projects.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Deputy Head of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov held a video conference and discussed prospects for cooperation in the field of IT, the development of transport links and the future visit of the Ukrainian minister to Ashgabat, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has reported.
“Relations between our countries have always developed in a friendly and constructive manner. I want the pace and tone of the dialog to be maintained and developed. Turkmenistan occupies a special place on our world map. We are ready to move forward politically and economically,” the press service of the ministry said, citing Kuleba as saying.
Meredov invited the Ukrainian minister to visit Ashgabat. The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry proposed to hold a meeting of Ukrainian and Turkmen companies as part of the visit.
The minister of foreign affairs of Turkmenistan commended the extra sophisticated high-tech infrastructure projects that Ukrainian companies have successfully implemented in Turkmenistan. The interlocutors noted the need to develop this interaction, as well as look for new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation, in particular in the field of IT.
Also, the foreign ministers discussed further cooperation and mutual support of initiatives within the framework of international organizations. Kuleba congratulated Turkmenistan on acquiring observer status in the WTO.
The ministers agreed to hold a meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Ukrainian-Turkmen Commission on Economic, Cultural and Humanitarian Cooperation as soon as possible.
The parties also discussed the steps required to restore direct flights between Ukraine and Turkmenistan, as well as the interaction of maritime authorities. The importance of developing alternative transport corridors was noted.
The ministers stressed the need to further encourage Turkmen students to study in Ukraine, the development of medical tourism and health improvement in Ukraine, the need to intensify interaction in the field of culture.
During the video conference, Kuleba and Meredov signed the Cooperation Program between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan for 2020-2021.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Foreign Minister of Romania Bogdan Aurescu have agreed to establish a joint working group on cooperation in the energy sector.
“We discussed in detail the ambitious potential projects in the energy sector, primarily those related to electricity, gas and hydrogen. We decided to create a working group on energy issues and look forward to when our colleagues from the ministries of energy of Ukraine and Romania and the involved business companies will start a detailed substantive conversation on the issues that I have mentioned,” Kuleba said at a joint press conference with Aurescu in Bucharest.
He also noted that he had discussed with his Romanian colleague how to launch the Isaccea-Orlivka ferry service at a maximum capacity.
“I am absolutely sure that we can, we have every opportunity to create and implement ambitious projects that will make Ukraine, Romania, and our region as a whole stronger. It would be an unacceptable mistake not to use the opportunities that we have, primarily in energy and infrastructure sectors. And so today we’ve really discussed how we can launch the Isaccea-Orlivka ferry line at a maximum capacity and eliminate certain problematic issues,” the Ukrainian minister added.
