Eugenijus Sabutis, Lithuania’s Minister of Transport and Communications, met with Oleksii Kuleba, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration and Minister for Communities and Territories Development, in Kyiv on Friday to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation in transport and logistics. According to Mr Sabutis, developing North-South transport links is particularly important for both countries. He also informed Ukrainian colleagues of Lithuania’s efforts on the international scene to increase the international community’s support for restoring Ukraine’s transport infrastructure.
“Close cooperation between Lithuania and Ukraine is crucial, with the highlight on developing transport routes from Klaipėda to Odessa, expanding connectivity by passenger trains, and increasing the volume of rail freight traffic. We have great potential to strengthen bilateral economic relations further in rail, road transport and logistics. We have invited the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine to Lithuania next year to sign a joint Baltic-Ukrainian memorandum of understanding on developing the Free Rail initiative and increasing the resilience of the railway systems,” Minister Sabutis said in Kyiv.
Lithuanian Minister stressed the importance of the possibilities the new Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) offers in improving connectivity with Ukraine. It includes a planned railway line to Klaipėda, a new transport corridor linking the Baltic, Black and Aegean Seas, and an additional link to Ukraine – these are included in the updated TEN-T network regulation. Together with the Rail Baltica, this will create a new transport route from Klaipėda and other Baltic Sea ports to Ukraine. These projects also align with Ukraine’s strategy for developing the European gauge railway.
The meeting participants noted that LTG Cargo Ukraine, a freight transport company of the Lithuanian Railways (LTG) Group, is already actively strengthening business relations between Lithuania and Ukraine and expanding the potential for economic cooperation between the two countries. LTG has already agreed to cooperate with Ukrainian Railways on the Free Rail initiative, which, with the involvement of Latvia and Estonia, is aimed at strengthening the resilience of the rail network in the broad-gauge railway region.
Minister Sabutis assured his colleague that assistance to Ukraine will remain a key priority for the OECD’s International Transport Forum (ITF) and other international transport and telecommunication organisations. He highlighted Lithuania’s contribution to raising international support for the long-term restoration of the Ukrainian transport sector.
CIG4U (Common Interest Group for Transport in Ukraine), a mechanism to support Ukraine in the field of transport, was established as a joint initiative of Lithuania, Sweden, Canada and Ukraine during Lithuania’s Presidency of the ITF, the largest international transport organisation, in 2023–2024. During Lithuania’s ITF Presidency, 5.5 million EUR were earmarked to finance projects to restore Ukraine’s transport infrastructure.
Mr Sabutis also promised full support to Kyiv in accession negotiations on the European Union (EU) membership. Minister Sabutis said Lithuania has consistently supported Ukraine’s aims for European integration. It will share its best experiences and expertise with its partners in Ukraine, where structural reforms are underway to integrate into the EU.
On 20 December, Minister of Transport and Communications Eugenijus Sabutis, together with a delegation of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania headed by Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, is visiting Kyiv (Ukraine), where a joint meeting of the Governments of Lithuania and Ukraine is held for the first time.
