Vladyslav Kryklii, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine met with William B. Taylor, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the United States Embassy in Ukraine. The meeting was held on October 30, 2019 at the Mariupol Commercial Port. Raivis Veckagans, the head of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority was also attended the meeting.

The parties discussed issues of bilateral cooperation in the marine and river industries, railway, aviation and road sectors, as well as opportunities for investment in infrastructure projects in Ukraine.

Vladislav Krykliy thanked Mr. Taylor for political, diplomatic and military support from the United States to Ukraine and noted that Ukraine's economy is gradually growing despite the aggression from the Russian Federation.

“For us, the support of the USA and the world community is very important. We have ambitious goals to attract as many investors as possible in the transport industry of Ukraine. The parliament of Ukraine has already voted the law on concessions. Two pilot concession projects were launched in the seaports of Olvia and Kherson, next - concessions in the seaports of Mariupol, Berdyansk, Odesa and the ferry complex in the port of Chernomorsk. In addition we also plan concessions of roads, railway stations and regional airports. With the support of the World Bank, we are working on concession road projects, namely: M-06 Lviv – Stryi, M-09 Lviv – Ternopil, M-05 Kyiv – Bila Tserkva, M-10 Lviv – Krakivets. In cooperation with IFC, we help local communities to prepare concessions for Kherson, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhya airports and cargo terminal at the Bila Tserkva airport. We also preparing concession projects for railway stations in Kharkiv, Dnipro, Khmelnitsky, Mykolaiv, Chop”,- Vladislav Krykliy said.

The Minister of Infrastructure also noted that Ukraine also intends to increase river transportation. According to him, it is expected that by the end of this year, the Verkhovna Rada will pass a bill on inland waterway ways, which will gave start the reform of the river.

During the meetings, special attention was paid to ensuring the security and safety of navigation in the Black and Azov Seas. Vladyslav Kryklii noted that during the years of Russian aggression and due to restrictions caused by the Kerch Bridge, the ports of the Azov region lost almost half of the ships and cargo. In addition, a major blow to the seaports of Mariupol and Berdyansk was the stoppage by the FSB of Russia of vessels heading to / from the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk for the so-called “inspection”. All these factors negatively affected on the operation of ports and the country's economy.

In turn, Mr. William Taylor said that the United States is interested in the economic and political success of Ukraine and intends to continue to support our country.