•The Rada on Tuesday ratified the free trade area agreement with Canada, as 272 members of parliament voted in favor. The deal is awaiting approval in the upper house of Canada’s Parliament, and then will need to be signed by President Petro Poroshenko and Canada’s governor general.

•Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and his Turkish counterpart, Binali Yildirim, set a goal to increase trade turnover between the two countries to $20 billion. In 2016, trade between Ukraine and Turkey exceeded $3 billion. Both countries’ education ministries also signed an agreement calling for the establishment of joint postsecondary degree programs in four areas, promotion of the Ukrainian and Turkish languages and the creation of academic exchange programs.

•Ukraine and Turkey approved the use of ID cards to serve as passports in each other’s country, a lawmaker’s spokesman tweeted. Under the terms of the agreement, Ukrainians will be able to enter, leave and transit Turkey and stay in the country for up to 90 days without a visa. Turks will be entitled to stay in Ukraine for up to 180 days without a visa.

•Ukraine and the U.S. approved an award of $54 million in technical assistance for the implementation of reforms in Ukraine, Interfax Ukraine reported. The money will be applied to reforms aimed at fostering stable economic development and transparent management that includes citizen engagement. The $54 million is a portion of a larger agreement worth $123 million.

•Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk said on Ukrainian television Monday that Ukraine will introduce land reform this year, Ukrinform reported. Danyliuk said the reform of Ukraine’s unwieldy and outdated land use arrangement is necessary so the country can stimulate domestic agricultural development, attract investment and let people manage their land.

•Ukraine made a presentation at the annual convention and trade show of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada. The Ukrainian contingent spoke of the country’s potential and the opening of the mineral exploration market, according to Ukrinform. The presentation coincided with the announcement by a deputy minister of natural resources that Ukraine has mineral wealth worth an estimated $11.5 trillion.

•Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said Ukraine is looking to partner with Turkey in aircraft production, according to the Turkish news agency Anadolu. Groysman said both countries have good infrastructure for aircraft manufacturing. In other aviation news, Ukraine confirmed the much-anticipated impending arrival of budget carrier Ryanair to the Ukrainian market.

•Russia’s beleaguered Sberbank has instituted a temporary $800 daily cash withdrawal limit, Novoe Vremya reported, citing Ukrainski Novyny.

•Production of motor vehicles in Ukraine in the first two months of 2017 rose 60 percent year on year, to 756 units, according to Ukravtoprom’s public affairs office.

Kenya intends to purchase 450,000 tons of corn from Ukraine, and Ukrainian authorities are calling on producers interested in supplying corn to Kenya to notify them, Ukrinform reported.

For comments and news tips, please email UBJ AM editor David Edwards at david.edwards@theubj.com.