Danube waters lead us to the heart of Europe - President supports the development of the seaports of Reni and Izmail

During a working visit to Odesa region, President Petro Poroshenko took part in an expanded meeting on the development of the maritime economy of Ukraine, which took place in Izmail. The Head of State stresses that Ukraine is a maritime state and has every opportunity to include our seaports, in particular Reni and Izmail, in European transport corridors.

"On the banks of the Danube, I do not need to talk about the unique opportunities South Bessarabia has in the development of international transport corridors. Nature and history have created significant opportunities here for infrastructure projects related to logistics, related to international trade. And for the development of tourism, as I have already said. In this context, the maritime economy, port infrastructure is a key and absolutely indispensable factor for economic development," Petro Poroshenko said.

"Further integration of the country"s transport sector into the international network is a way of ensuring the opportunities and benefits of the Association Agreement. We must turn the domestic transport sector into a part of the transport and logistics corridors, use all possibilities of cooperation with the EU, take an active part in the development of the "Europe-Asia" transport corridor,” the President emphasized.

According to the Head of State, eight maritime ports of Ukraine are included for the implementation of this network. "Among them, two are located on the Danube - Reni and Izmail, where the implementation of a number of infrastructure projects for the modernization and development of the port complex will be carried out," he stated.

"The integration into the network of seaports will ensure both the attraction of financial flows from the EU and the introduction of information and communication systems for the restoration and formation of new transit flows through the territory of Ukraine. This will provide workload not only to ports, but also to railways, road transport. It will also ensure additional revenues to the Ukrainian economy. We must realize the opportunities open to us," Petro Poroshenko added.

According to him, today the port industry is one of the most important factors in the growth of the Ukrainian economy, as it provides 40% of international trade. Last year, the port industry of Ukraine took the second place in the Black Sea-Azov region by the volume of cargo turnover.

Also, the Head of State drew attention to the issue of personnel supply of the maritime industry: "It is clear that for the ambitious tasks facing Ukraine, ambitious tasks for the development of the maritime complex, we need specialists of high qualification". He expressed conviction that the Ukrainian state has educational institutions that can prepare them.

"The first one is the National University "Odesa Maritime Academy". Today, the quality of seamen training in its walls meets all international standards. The quality recognized at the world level and I am proud of the fact that Ukraine is in the top-5 in terms of the number of maritime officers operating on the world maritime transport market. I am ready to work with you to strengthen and develop our marine education potential," Petro Poroshenko summarized.

During his speech, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan emphasized that "Ukraine is able to compete in the world market of heavyweight maritime transportation".

During the discussion on state support for sea ports, the President stressed that "we need to create competitive advantages" in the ports of Reni and Izmail, and study the rates and port fees in such ports as Constanta and Varna in detail. The Head of State believes that Reni and Izmail are our gateway to the European Union.