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22 June 1998
For immediate release
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UKRAINE-EUROPEAN UNION SESSION TO BE HELD IN NOVEMBER
During his June 19’s meeting with President Leonid Kuchma, Roman Shpek, Chairman of the National Agency for Development and European Integration informed the Ukrainian leader about preparations underway for holding a joint Ukraine-EU session in November, 1998. In particular, Mr. Shpek briefed on establishing Ukraine-EU contacts at the ministerial level in order to make implementation of the Ukraine-EU Cooperation and Partnership Agreement more target-oriented. He told about Agency's collaboration with a number of ministries and regional administrations in implementing several projects, one of which provides for involvement of four foreign banks in setting up several joint ventures in the city of Pavlograd to manufacture grain combine harvesters. The meeting also dealt with a project which provides for replenishing the Ukrainian civil aviation fleet, and issues relating to domestic manufacturing of agricultural machinery.
PRESIDENT KUCHMA ON IMPORTANCE OF UKRAINIAN-ISRAELI RELATIONSHIP
On June 19, President Leonid Kuchma received Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Dmytro Markov to hear his account about the current status of Ukrainian-Israeli relations, in general, and economic cooperation, in particular. The Ukrainian Head of State have underscored Israel's significance for Ukraine as a major trading partner in the Middle East, and instructed the Ambassador to make the Embassy's activity more concentrated on ways to step up cooperation between Ukraine and Israel. Following the Ambassador's report, President Kuchma issued relevant instructions to several ministries and departments to exert greater effort toward boosting trade and economic relations between Ukraine and Israel.
PRIME MINISTER PUSTOVOITENKO MEETS WB'S DIRECTOR
Ukrainian Prime Minister Valeriy Pustovoitenko during his meeting with World Bunk Director for Ukraine and Belarus Paul Siegelbaum informed him about the Ukrainian President's and Government's most recent moves to improve the economic and financial situation in the country with particular emphasis placed on balancing the national budget. Mr. Siegelbaum stated the World Bank's intention to carry on its cooperation with Ukraine and assist the Ukrainian Government in carrying out the administrative reform, the energy sector's reformation, projects to foster privately-run small and midsize businesses, and introduce application of resource - saving and environmentally friendly technologies. Mr. Pustovoitenko underscored his view of privatization and small businesses as the key to stepping up investment processes and creating new jobs in Ukraine.
PRIME MINISTER PUSTOVOITENKO MEETS WITH HEAD OF IMF MISSION
On June 19, Ukrainian Prime Minister Valeriy Pustovoitenko received Muhammed Shadman-Valavi, head of the IMF Mission to Ukraine, and acquainted him with Ukrainian President’s latest package of edicts and enactments meant for improving the current economic and financial situation in Ukraine, as well as with Ukrainian Government's further steps to increase the influx of budgetary revenues. The parties addressed other issues, too, and agreed to hold another round of talks this week.
DEPUTY PREMIER S.TYHYPKO STATES A 0.1% INCREASE OF UKRAINE’S GDP
Speaking at a session of the Council of Regions in Kiev on June 19, Deputy Premier Serhiy Tyhypko stated the nation's GDP in January-May of 1998 as standing at 35.7 billion hryvnias, or 100.1 percent of 1997's relevant period figure. Mr. Tyhypko referred to this statistical data as evidencing the onset of Ukraine's economic recovery and mild growth. In Mr. Tyhypko's words, the increment in GDP was most marked in last May (2.6 percent versus May of 1997). However, all these promising symptoms notwithstanding, the overall economic situation in Ukraine remains critical, Mr. Tyhypko admitted. He stated the current debit indebtedness as having grown by 23.4 percent and the credit indebtedness by 23 percent with the consolidated budget's deficit standing at 1.92 billion hryvnias.
AMBASSADOR RICHARD MORNINGSTAR HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE IN KIEV
On June 19, Amb. Richard Morningstar, a special adviser to the US President and the Secretary of State who headed an official American delegation on a fact-finding mission to Ukraine as a follow-up step to the US State Secretary Madeleine Albright's v isit to Kiev on March 6, 1998, held a press conference to inform about his mission's early findings. In his foreword speech at the press conference, US Ambassador to Ukraine Stephen Pifer recalled the State Secretary's visit in terms of improving global security through Ukraine's discontinued cooperation with Russia in implementing nuclear project in Iran. When the Ukrainian - US agreement to this effect was reached in Kiev, the US were well aware of sizable financial and economic losses it would inevitably incur on the Kharkiv - headquartered production association TurboAtom, the Ambassador admitted. Therefore, the American delegation's most recent visit to Kharkiv was meant for gathering information about the second largest Ukrainian city's investment opportunities and exploring prospects for US capital investments into local small and midsize businesses. The US delegation held a series of meetings with Kharkiv municipal officials and business executives. As Mr. Morningstar said, his mission to Ukraine and talks with key officials were only a part of the US Administration's response to Ukraine's decision on halting supplies of turbines to NPP in Bushehr. This decision, as well as Ukraine's adamant and unswerving stance on nuclear non - proliferation, have been instrumental in making the two parties sign an agreement on nuclear cooperation, under which the US Administration has undertaken a $40 million project for Ukraine. The project is supposed to facilitate Ukraine's searches for alternative sources of energy and fissionable fuel supplies necessary for its nuclear power plants. In a long run, it will enable the Ukrainian Government to save millions upon millions of dollars, Mr. Morningstar said. In addition to TurboAtom, the US delegation visited the "Komunar", "Monolit" and other major Kharkivan enterprises where they discussed potential markets for Kharkivan goods and likely American aid to this effect. The US delegation head and Ambassador Pifer will report their findings in every detail to US vice - president Al Gore, who is due to arrive in Kiev on July 22, for a meeting with President Kuchma of Ukraine. The two US officials sounded confident on the mission's findings and recommendations likely to facilitate the deepening and expansion of partnership between the USA and Ukraine.
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