Adoption of the Law on Inland Waterways is important not only for the Ministry, but also for the market and international partners of Ukraine. It is also important to point out, that implementation of the Association Agreement and fulfillment of our obligation in this respect are the key priorities for the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine. Volodymyr Omelyan, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, stated the above during the Round table «Dnipro Development Initiatives», which was held with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine. Representatives of the EBRD, the EIB, the World Bank, other international partners of Ukraine and Reform Support Team of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine also took part in the event.

Volodymyr Omelyan emphasized that the draft law developed by the Ministry is a pledge for the Dnipro potential development, in terms of carrying out cargo and passenger transportation: "We have not only a draft law, but also a number of documents for its implementation - a business plan of transport development along the Dnipro. I am grateful to our international partners for their expert assistance in preparing of this basic document, as well as for the support of the key reforms initiated by the Ministry of Infrastructure".

The Minister stressed that the draft Law on Inland Waterways complies with the Logistics Strategy developed for Ukraine with the support of the World Bank.

The Minister of Infrastructure also noted that the adoption of the Law on Inland Waterways is important from the point of the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU: "We should implement 5 laws that have already been introduced to the Parliament. The Law on Inland Waterways is among the key ones. We believe that with the adoption of this law we will be able to launch a new industry for Ukraine – shipbuilding, and cargo and passengers transportation along the Dnipro."

Representatives of the European Commission emphasized that the Law on Inland Waterways complies with the norms of the EU and the Association Agreement. Dnipro Development Initiative, developed with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine supports the need for adoption of the Law on Inland Waterways.