Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine - Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba, together with his deputy Serhiy Derkach, met with a delegation from the Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland and the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy of Poland.
In particular, the meeting was joined by Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nałencz, Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, and Stanisław Bukoviec, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure.
The focus of the discussion was on the transportation of goods and passengers by road, cooperation in the railway sector, the development of checkpoints and strengthening cooperation in the field of regional policy.
“Poland is not only a neighbor for Ukraine, but a strategic ally with whom we have built a strong partnership, including during the most difficult periods of our history. We highly appreciate the efforts of the Polish side to expand the capacity of the border, modernize the border infrastructure, as well as participate in joint projects aimed at developing international transport corridors and strengthening cooperation in the field of regional policy. At the same time, we need a constructive dialogue and coordination of actions on a number of issues, especially those related to the development of passenger and cargo transportation,” said Oleksiy Kuleba.
Regarding cooperation in the field of road transportation, the Ukrainian delegation emphasized the need to resolve problems that arise when registering Ukrainian carriers in the SENT/RMPD system.
In addition, the parties discussed the lack of regulation of transportation to/from third countries, as they cannot be carried out in accordance with the Agreement on the Liberalization of Freight Transport between Ukraine and the European Union, as well as the need to increase the period of stay of drivers on the territory of Ukraine and Poland.
The resolution of these issues requires amendments to the profile agreement between the countries. The developed draft of such a Protocol was previously submitted to the Polish side for consideration.
The parties also agreed to hold a meeting of the Mixed Commission on Road Transport to develop solutions in the field of road transport.
On the issue of regional policy, the parties focused on the possibility of creating a Polish-Ukrainian working group on the preparation for negotiations within the framework of European integration under the relevant section - “Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments”.