Cooperation with Lithuanian colleagues already gives good results, we are open to new joint projects

On 2 June, in Odessa, it was a meeting of the Ukrainian-Lithuanian working group on transport as part of the 16th Ukrainian-Lithuanian intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation. Chairmen of the delegations of the both sides - Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine and head of the Ministry Volodymyr Omelian and Vice Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Lithuania Saulius Girdauskas and state experts from both countries took the floor during the meeting.

Participants of the event reported about the work done since the last meeting of the group. In particular, the Ukrainian side noted the fact that growth in freight rail traffic Ukraine-Lithuania: in 2014 2.09 million tons of cargo were transported, which is 22% more than in 2013.

The parties discussed the progress of Viking container train project, which is an important element of cargo transportation in the Baltic Sea-Black Sea direction. In particular, the Lithuanian side informed about a 7.9%-increase in traffic volumes carried out by Viking Train, the geographical expansion of the project, the inclusion of Azerbaijan and the development of the Turkish direction. In order to increase transit transportation by Viking Train, the Ukrainian side proposes to develop intermodal transportation, which means involvement in the project other modes of transport, except rail. The Ukrainian side also proposed to sign a multilateral agreement with other countries (Belarus, Moldova, Georgia and others) and creation of Baltic Sea-Black Sea transport corridor.