European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel said it is necessary to attract private investment both from Ukraine itself and from the European Union to rebuild post-war Ukraine, for which favorable conditions must be created.
He said this on Thursday in Stockholm at the end of a meeting of the European Council at the level of development ministers. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kurbakov also attended the meeting by video link.
“It is clear that we must prepare ourselves for recovery and reconstruction, which go hand in hand with the process of reform on the way to European membership. These processes reinforce each other. Ukraine needs to move forward on fighting corruption, reforming the judicial system, which will increase the efficiency of spending in Ukraine and create a predictable and fair economic environment to attract private investors. This must be mobilized to ensure that the private sector can play a key role for civil society and local authorities. We must use our funding to attract private investment, both from Ukraine and the EU,” Borrell said of his vision.
The EU high representative stated that the reconstruction of Ukraine will be “the next huge task.” “And the longer this war goes on, the more destruction there will be and the more work we will have to do to support Ukraine in its reconstruction. It is also very clear that Russia must make up for the incredible destruction and loss it has caused Ukraine and its people. It must pay the price for rebuilding Ukraine. To do this, we are working on how we can use and mobilize frozen Russian assets in accordance with international law,” he added.
Borrell recalled that during Wednesday’s informal meeting of defense ministers, defense chiefs discussed military support for Ukraine and today with development ministers discussed rebuilding Ukraine. “Those two things go together. We have to help Ukraine to avoid destruction and we have to support Ukraine to rebuild it. But the less destruction, the better for reconstruction efforts. So we have to send generators to Ukraine to produce electricity and we have to send missiles to prevent Russia from destroying them,” he detailed.
Referring to the participation in the meeting of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine Kurbakov, the High Representative said that he “spoke about his vision of priorities.” “It is absolutely clear that we must continue to support Ukraine to win this war,” Borrell stressed.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is preparing a new program that could prohibit investments in certain industries in China, The Wall Street Journal wrote.
Such a measure would be another step by the United States aimed at preserving technological advantages in the face of growing competition between the world’s two largest economies, the article noted.
The Treasury and Commerce departments said in reports to lawmakers that they are considering a new system to regulate U.S. foreign investment in advanced technology that could pose a national security threat. The documents, seen by the WSJ, say the president’s administration could prohibit certain investments and would also gather information on other investments. Specific technology sectors are not listed in the reports, but the focus will be on areas that could improve military capabilities.
The new program will cover private and venture capital investments in the development of advanced semiconductors, quantum computing and some forms of artificial intelligence, sources said. U.S. officials want to prevent U.S. investors from providing funding and expertise to Chinese companies that could, for example, improve Beijing’s speed and accuracy in military decision-making.
The U.S. government has long closely monitored foreign investment in China’s economy, in some cases banning it through an interagency group called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. But the rules governing U.S. investment overseas will be a new step in a broader effort by the Biden administration to prevent China from developing technology that U.S. authorities believe could pose a national security threat. Last year, the United States imposed new restrictions on exports of semiconductors and chip-making equipment to slow China’s military advancement, the WSJ notes.
At the same time, administration officials are reaching out to close G7 allies to gain their support for the concept of limiting investment in China.
One of the world’s largest venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital, has already begun vetting new investments in Chinese semiconductor or quantum computing companies in preparation for new U.S. rules, according to the article.
In more details the situation in the economy of Ukraine and the world was analyzed by the analytical center “Club of experts“, the video is available at the link
Projects of modernization to the European standard of the track from the border to Lviv and Kovel are described in the National Transport Strategy and require more than $ 75 million investment, said former Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine for European Integration Viktor Dovgan to Interfax-Ukraine.
As reported, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal at a government meeting on Tuesday said that Ukraine will begin to gradually move to the European track to connect the Ukrainian railway with the EU, first connecting large hubs and large cities, and then gradually expanding across the country .
“Investments in such a large-scale project are unlikely, because 1 km of the European road – 1 million euros plus rolling stock. It is necessary to make short connections Lviv, Mukachevo, Chernivtsi and transfer. It is important to take an action plan of the National Transport Strategy. it is unrealistic to make a European track to Kyiv or Odessa at this stage, “Dovgan commented.
It will be recalled that in the Investment Atlas published by the Cabinet of Ministers at the end of 2020, two potential sections with the European standard of 1435 mm gauge were presented: Sknilov-Mostiska and Kovel-Yagodin-State Border.
The estimated cost of the Sknilov-Mostiska modernization project is $ 20.8 million, Kovel – Yagodin – State Border – $ 54.2 million.
In February 2022, Lviv OVA announced that within the framework of the presidential program “Big Construction” this year work will begin on the restoration of the 8-km Goskolitsa-Rava-Russkaya Eurorail, which they intend to implement within two years.
BORDER, EUROPEAN RAILWAY TRACK, INVESTMENT, LVIV, MODERNIZATION, КОВЕЛЬ
Consumer goods giant Unilever has said that the company continues to condemn the war in Ukraine, has stopped business operations in Ukraine and has suspended all imports and exports of our products into and out of Russia.
“We continue to condemn the war in Ukraine as a brutal and senseless act by the Russian state. Our business operations in Ukraine have stopped and we are now fully focused on ensuring the safety of our Ukrainian employees and their families, including helping with their evacuation where necessary, and providing additional financial support,” Unilever CEO Alan Jope said in a statement posted on the company’s website.
He said that the company has suspended all imports and exports of our products into and out of Russia, and we will stop all media and advertising spend.
“We will not invest any further capital into the country nor will we profit from our presence in Russia. We will continue to supply our everyday essential food and hygiene products made in Russia to people in the country. We will keep this under close review,” he said.
“We join calls for an end to this war and hope that peace, human rights, and the international rule of law will prevail,” he said.
Unilever brands include Lipton, Dove, Vaseline, Cif, Signal, Domestos, Rexona AXE, Chistaya Liniya, Barkhatnye Ruchki and Inmarko.
In Ukraine, the company has a tea factory in Hostomel near Kyiv, which is the scene of heavy fighting.
In Russia, it has ice cream plants in Tula Region and Omsk, tea, cosmetics and household cleaner production facilities in St. Petersburg, and a cosmetics factory in Yekaterinburg.
Prometey Group of Companies, which owns 29 granaries in Ukraine with a total storage capacity of 1.7 million tonnes of agricultural crops, intends to purchase four-six more elevators this year, the company’s website reported on Monday.
“In the future, Prometey Group intends to take a leading position in terms of one-time storage capacity and become the largest latifundist in Ukraine. This year, the company aims to purchase four-six more elevators,” the grain trader said in a statement.
It is noted that in 2021, Prometey acquired four granaries, which made it possible to increase the elevator capacity of the group of companies by 210,000 tonnes.
Prometey provides services for the storage, processing and logistics of grain and leguminous crops on the basis of 29 elevators in Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Khmelnytsky, Zaporizhia, Sumy, Odesa, Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Nova Poshta Group plans to invest UAH 5 billion in development in 2022, of which UAH 1.2 billion into an innovative terminal in Odesa.
As Nova Poshta said in a report on Wednesday, the terminal in Odesa will become the company’s second largest sorting facility after its opening.
Construction work at the Odesa terminal began in June last year. The terminal will consist of two buildings – postal and freight, their total area – more than 26,000 square meters.
Active construction is currently underway: a building frame is being assembled at the cargo terminal.
“In 2022, we plan to invest unprecedented UAH 5 billion in the Nova Poshta development: in terminal infrastructure; a network of branches and post offices; in innovation. This is one and a half times more than last year. We believe in our country, we believe in its people, so we continue to develop our business and work with inspiration,” co-owner of Nova Poshta Volodymyr Popereshniuk is quoted in the report.
In March, the installation of automated equipment will begin at the terminal. These will be two main automated Vanderlande lines for sorting parcels from 2 kg to 30 kg and three lines for sorting small parcels manufactured by the Ukrainian company Konsort.
In addition, telescopic conveyors will be installed at the terminal, which drive directly into the car body and help automate the process of loading. A total of 48 such “telescopes” are planned to be installed at the terminal.
It is planned to use 50 robotic carts at the cargo part of the terminal: robots manufactured by Ukrainian SBR for moving cargo.
The terminal will begin operation, tentatively, already in November of this year. It will be able to process up to 40,000 parcels per hour, which is three times more the speed of the current terminal.
The terminal will sort the parcels for Odesa and 65 settlements of Odesa region. It will create more than 700 new jobs.
The company also said that they planned to open an automated terminal in Zaporizhia the following week.
The Nova Poshta group of companies includes, in particular, Nova Poshta, NP Logistic, NovaPay and Nova Poshta Global companies.
