Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure, Volodymyr Omelyan, the Slovakian State Secretary of Finance Ministry, Dana Meage, and Slovakian Minister of Transport, Arpad Ersek, agreed to elaborate the possibility for the developing of logistics terminals in Kosice and Mukachevo and decided to create a working group, which will include representatives of the railway companies from the two countries.
The parties discussed the issues of the development of railway and aviation cooperation and agreed on the creation of a working group, which will work on the development of passenger and freight transport, including issues of joint customs and border control.
“Last year, Ukraine was included in the TEN-T Foreign Investment Action Plan, and if we unite our efforts with Slovakia to build new logistics complexes, we will definitely succeed. After the opening of the Beskid rail tunnel, the transit through the territory of Ukraine and Slovakia can increase by several times, and we should use these opportunities,” Volodymyr Omelyan said.
Under the Eastern Partnership, the EC and World Bank elaborated an Indicative TEN-T Investment Action Plan which highlights that the region needs a EUR 13 billion investment up to 2030.
For Ukraine, EUR 4.45 billion is the value of the needed investment for transport sector. The 39 priority projects include road, rail, aviation, port and inland waterway. Among the projects, 9 are related to railway infrastructure development, with a EUR 851 million needed investment totaling 530 km of railway lines.
The representatives of the ministers of the two countries discussed the development of the Silk Road, in particular, measures for the organization of container traffic from the EU countries to China and backward through the territory of Ukraine and Slovakia, and the development of logistics complexes in Mukachevo, Chop and Kosice.
“Ukraine and Slovakia have a common strategic vision for further development, and the development of a logistics complex in Kosice can turn Ukraine and Slovakia into a gate between Asia and Europe and into a one big logistics hub,” Dana Meager explained.
The Slovakian side invited Ukraine to join the Memorandum on the Development of the Silk Road, as this initiative has a high international interest and is in the interests of Ukraine, Slovakia, China, as well as the EU and Asia as a whole.
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