Ukraine and Georgia have agreed to develop rail and ferry transportation, which will relieve the road infrastructure and expand the geography of delivery of goods transported by rail in both countries. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure.
The Ukrainian delegation led by First Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Dmitry Abramovich, during a recent visit to Georgia on April, held working meetings with Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Guram Guramishvili, Director General of Georgian Railway JSC David Peradze, Chairman of the Georgian Maritime Transport Agency Tamara Ioseliani and Timur Ergalievim, Managing Director for Commercial Affairs of the Batumi Sea Port. The Ukrainian delegation also included Deputy Finance Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Kava and representatives of Ukrzaliznytsia.
During the meeting with Guram Guramishvili, the parties discussed ways to expand cooperation on the development of railway communication between Ukraine and Georgia, as well as the creation of competitive and unified conditions for the carriage of goods by rail using the existing infrastructure of ports and ferry crossings of the Black Sea basin connecting Ukraine and Georgia.
Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, press service
Particular attention is paid to the practical implementation of the Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of Georgia on the organisation of direct international rail-ferry traffic through the ports of Ukraine and Georgia, as well as the development of feeder transport and the introduction of an electronic system for the exchange of permits for international road transport between the two states.
Ukraine and Georgia are strategic partners. Ensuring the development of rail and ferry traffic is a priority task for our countries. Organisation of container trains in communication with the ports will unload the road infrastructure and, in combination with the sea service between the ports of Ukraine and Georgia, will create a competitive logistics product that will expand the geography of delivery of goods transported by rail in both countries.
Dmitry Abramovich, First Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine
As a result of the meeting, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation in the field of creating innovative technologies and information systems on the procedure for exchanging permits for international road freight transport. The Memorandum will simplify the procedures for the exchange of permits for the implementation of international road freight transport and facilitate the control procedures for transport operations.
In addition, within the framework of the meeting with the General Director of JSC Georgian Railway, they discussed the importance of joint participation in international projects related to the development of intermodal transport, in particular within the framework of such transport corridors as TRACECA and the Trans-Caspian Transport Route (TMTM). In order to increase freight traffic on priority joint directions, transiting through the territories of Ukraine and Georgia, the parties discussed the establishment of special (preferential) tariffs for the carriage of goods by rail from / to Ukraine.
During the meeting, the parties agreed in the near future to sign an Agreement between Ukrzaliznytsia JSC and Georgian Railway JSC on information exchange to create a single digital transport corridor in the implementation of freight traffic.
Within the framework of the meeting with the Managing Director for Commercial Issues of the Batumi Sea Port - Timur Ergalievim, issues of the development of railway-ferry terminals were discussed.
Following the meeting with the leadership of the Georgian Maritime Transport Agency, the parties agreed to consider the possibility of signing a Memorandum between the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia on the exchange of information in order to monitor the surface situation in the Black Sea.
Also, within the framework of the meeting with Tamara Ioseliani, issues of mutual support within the framework of the activities of the International Maritime Organisation were discussed.
