The key challenge for Ukraine is to restore the status of the transit state. This was stated by the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine at a regular Meeting of the Permanent Representatives (National Secretaries) of the Permanent Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Commission TRACECA on 21 November, 2016.

Ukraine, as the chairing country in 2016-2017, has started the development of a comprehensive action plan within the framework of the IGC TRACECA activity.

The Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine stressed that Ukraine is ready to present a number of initiatives aimed at increasing the efficiency of the TRACECA Corridor. Namely: the development of the joint action plan on multimodal solutions for transportation within the TRACECA corridor, digitalization of the TRACECA transport corridor and implementation of the e-logistics system, initiating new EU technical assistance projects within the TRACECA Programme, enhancing connectivity of TRACECA Corridor and the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).

“I would like to stress that now a key challenge for Ukraine is to restore the status of the transit state. We have to find flexible and efficient solutions for speedy, seamless and safe transit. This is the main trend for the entire world and for Ukraine as well”, said Volodymyr Omelyan.

The Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine emphasized that the development of new transit connections and corridors from EU to Asia is a priority for Ukraine.

“Improving transit attractiveness of Ukraine we see through the reforming of road, maritime, railway and aviation sectors. An impulse for growth of the national economy and rising of Ukraine attractiveness for foreign partners is rehabilitation of roads and construction of new highways. A reform of railway sector, especially with respect to modernization of rolling stock and infrastructure will also facilitate an increase of freight transit trough the territory of Ukraine.  Open sky and establishing new direct routes are essential for promoting transit through the territory of Ukraine in aviation sector”, explained Volodymyr Omelyan.

According to the Minister, establishment of the new international transport Corridor the Baltic Sea – the Black Sea – the Caspian Sea will enable the creation of a complex strategy for all kinds of transportations development and loading the existing infrastructure along the route. “We believe that it would be a successful platform for a meaningful dialogue with all the stakeholders in G2B format, who have the interest in transportations along these directions. We can develop unity and mutually beneficial tariff policy as well as consolidated solutions for optimization of transportation conditions by different means of transport”, Volodymyr Omelyan said.

The Minister also noted that the extension of the TEN-T maps towards the neighboring countries is the first step in ensuring coherence in infrastructure planning. It is also an initial step facilitating the use of EU standards. This will contribute to the reduction of transport costs and to an increase of the overall efficiency of the transport operations.

The Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine said that the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine is eager to develop strong ties with the leading countries in the region in order to ensure the efficient work of the Silk Road project.

“We actively work on the development of legal framework in the sphere of multimodal transportations. Within this activity there will be developed relevant mechanisms for promoting the establishment of logistics terminals, which have economically advantageous location, the accessibility for operators and customers, and simplifying the change of transport mode for transhipment: road/rail, road/maritime, etc.”, highlighted Volodymyr Omelyan.