Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during his phone call with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi discussed steps to step up bilateral trade, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has reported.
“We are interested in significantly expanding the range of Ukrainian exports to the Indonesian market, which we also consider as a platform for the expansion of Ukrainian goods to other countries of Southeast Asia. Ukraine can also become a bridge for Indonesian goods to enter the markets of Eastern Europe,” Kuleba said.
He noted the importance of holding the fourth joint meeting of the intergovernmental economic commission in 2021 to select promising economic projects. The minister also said that the Council of Exporters and Investors under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will bolster assistance to Ukrainian companies in establishing ties with Indonesian business.
The two foreign ministers pointed out the importance of starting expert consultations between Ukraine and Indonesia to consider the signing of an agreement on preferential trade.
Kuleba also called a promising area of cooperation in teaching Indonesian students in Ukraine.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has partially slowed down the development of important projects between our states. There has been a slight drop in trade volumes, contacts between governments and citizens have become fewer. We are now striving not only to catch up with the pre-existing level of relations, but also to significantly revive them in the political, trade, educational and cultural spheres,” the minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine said.
The phone call between the Ukrainian and Indonesian diplomats took place on the day of the celebration of the 29th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Indonesia.
The ministers agreed to hold political consultations of their ministries in the near future and presented invitations to exchange visits.
Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai agreed to hold a Trade and Investment Council.
“We talked about the need to strengthen dialogue on climate change, non-tariff rules for industrial and food products both in the context of strengthening the World Trade Organization (WTO) and on the bilateral track. We agreed to hold a Council on Trade and Investment and talk,” Kachka wrote on Facebook on Wednesday following a discussion with Tai on key trade issues held on May 11.
During the conversation, Tai expressed support for the idea of free production of vaccines (waiver), he said.
“We expressed our support. Ukraine is ready to act as a compressor of the waiver initiative and to convince the EU that it is necessary,” Kachka said.
With regard to duties on metallurgical products, the United States, according to Kachka, is ready to seek an individual approach to metal trading in order to overcome the problem of overcapacity.
“We explained that the duties and the EU measures applied later ended in the opposite direction in terms of overcapacity [excess capacity]. In general, Ukraine is more likely a partner of the West in transforming metallurgy,” Ukrainian trade representative added.
TOP 20 COUNTRIES UKRAINE HAS POSTED THE HIGHEST SURPLUS OF TRADE IN GOODS IN Jan 2021 (thSd USD)
The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine urges members of the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade (ICIT) not to introduce special measures in the form of the special duty on imported wires to Ukraine, regardless of the country of origin and export, the Chamber said in a Monday press release.
On March 29, 2021, the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine published the Basic Facts and Conclusions on the Special Investigation on the Import of Wires to Ukraine Regardless of the Country of Origin and Export. According to the basic facts and conclusions, the Ministry recommends introducing special measures in the form of the special duty of 23.5% for three years (with the subsequent liberalization).
“The potential introduction of the special duty on import will in fact, turn into the extra tax to be paid by the telecommunication industry. It will adversely affect mobile operators’ investment capacity because instead of investing in infrastructure, mobile operators will have to pay additional duties,” the Chamber said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that in 2020, bilateral trade between Ukraine and Qatar doubled, despite the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the press service of the head of state reported.
“Trade and economic cooperation underpins our relations with Qatar. I am pleased that bilateral trade following the results of such a difficult “pandemic” year 2020 reached high levels – almost $150 million. This is twice as much as, for example, in 2018. And this year, the momentum of trade between our countries has also been increased,” Zelensky’s press service said, quoting the president as saying in an interview with Qatari media outlets.
According to Zelensky, “the potential for trade and economic cooperation with Qatar can be much higher.”
Among examples of opportunities for bilateral economic growth, Zelensky noted the concession of the Ukrainian port of Olvia by the Qatari company QTerminals, as well as the implementation of domestic Ukrainian national programs to attract foreign investors.
He recalled that “in February 2021, he signed a law on so-called “investment nannies,” which provides strategic investors, whose investment amount exceeds EUR 20 million, with state support.”
In addition, “the Big Construction project, which provides for the construction of roads and other infrastructure facilities, is promising for investors.”
Also, according to Zelensky, “in the summer of 2021, a land reform, which establishes transparent relations in the agricultural sector and creates conditions for investing in livestock, agricultural processing, and logistics infrastructure, will start in Ukraine.”
Top 20 countries Ukraine has posted the highest surplus of trade in goods in 2020 (thsd usd).
SSC of Ukraine
