Business news from Ukraine

6 vessels carrying Ukrainian foods to China, Germany, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey

Six vessels carrying nearly 154,000 tonnes of foods departed from Ukrainian ports on Thursday after receiving approval from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC).
“The Joint Coordination Center (JCC) reports that six vessels left Ukrainian ports today [on October 13] carrying a total of 153,505 metric tonnes of grain and other foods under the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the center said.
In particular, the Wei He vessel is heading to China with 62,860 tonnes of sunflower meal on board, the Marlen bulker is carrying 33,000 tonnes of sunflower oil to Iraq, the Irmgard is carrying 30,817 tonnes of rapeseed to Germany, and the Ak Hamza is carrying 7,000 tonnes of corn to Lebanon.
Another two vessels – the Dignity (14,000 tonnes of corn) and the Yaf S (5,828 tonnes of wheat) – are bound for Turkey.
“Grains that reach a destination may go through processing and be transshipped to other countries,” the JCC said.
“As of October 13, the total tonnage of grain and other foodstuffs exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 7,363,704 metric tonnes. A total of 666 voyages (335 inbound and 331 outbound) have been enabled so far,” the center said.
The United Nations, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine signed a document in Istanbul on July 22 on opening a corridor to export grain from three Ukrainian ports – Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhny.

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Iraq elects new president

Latif Rashid on Thursday became the President of Iraq following a vote in Parliament, which marked the beginning of the formation of the Iraqi government – a year after the parliamentary elections in the country, Rudaw reports.

Rashid beat his opponent, former Iraqi President Barham Saleh, by 63 votes. In total, 162 deputies voted for Rashid.

Mohammed al-Sudani, who is running for the new prime minister, is expected to form a government within 30 days.

Previously, Rashid served as the Minister of Water Resources of Iraq, and was also a representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party.

Protests against corruption in Iraq caused early parliamentary elections in the country in October 2021. However, elected parliamentarians could not form a government due to disagreements between political blocs over the mechanisms for its formation.

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UKRAINIAN SPECIALISTS TO TAKE PART IN NATO MISSION IN IRAQ

Ukrainian specialists will take part in the NATO mission in Iraq and the Maritime Guard operation in the Mediterranean sea, said Yuriy Vasyliev, deputy director of the department, head of the European and Euro-Atlantic integration department of the International Defense Cooperation Department of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. “Ukraine has been a contributor to international security throughout its years of independence, and we continue, despite the aggression that we have, our contributions to missions and operations under NATO command. Now we have specialists who are in a Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and in the forces in Kosovo. But taking into account our recent proposals that have been accepted, we are now preparing to send our specialists to another two operations: the NATO mission in Iraq and the Alliance’s operation Maritime Guard,” Vasyliev said at an online conference on Tuesday.
He stressed that the Ukrainian military, hardened in battles to defend independence and territorial integrity, will be participants in these operations.
Vasyliev also pointed out that, given the status of a partner with expanded capabilities, Ukraine will be involved in five NATO exercises, which will be held on the topic of collective defense.
In addition, he noted that work is now underway to increase the level of Ukraine’s representation in the governing bodies and command structures of the Alliance.
“We are entering a new stage and will work this year, hopefully in the second half of the year, to send our civilian representative of the Ministry of Defense as a so-called voluntary national contribution,” Vasyliev explained.

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IRAQI DEFENSE MINISTER VISITS UKRAINE

Defense Ministers of Ukraine and Iraq, Andriy Taran and Juma Inad Saadoun Al-Juburi, in Kyiv signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of military cooperation between the defense departments of the two countries.

“The signing of the Memorandum will provide an opportunity to continue mutually beneficial cooperation between the defense ministries of the two countries, strengthen partnerships and ensure the implementation of projects in areas that are of mutually beneficial interest,” the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said.

As noted, on September 3, a delegation of the Iraqi Defense Ministry paid an official visit to Ukraine. This is the first visit of the head of the Iraqi Defense Ministry to Ukraine.

The defense ministers of Ukraine and Iraq held bilateral talks. The parties “emphasized the significant potential of partnership regarding the exchange of experience in the conduct of hostilities, cooperation in the area of military education.”

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