Romania has assured Ukraine that it will continue to get involved in the process of easing the transit of Ukrainian grain to the international markets

Romania intends to become the main platform for Ukraine’s grain exports against the Russian-imposed blockade and the latest Russian bombardments on the most important Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and the Danube. During the meeting they had in Bucharest on Friday, the Romanian and Ukrainian Prime Ministers, Marcel Ciolacu and Denys Shmyhal respectively, agreed to double the transit of the Ukrainian grain through Romania. The two officials have also agreed upon a new target that more than half of this grain to be transported via the aforementioned route.

The head of the government in Bucharest has underlined that the measures adopted at a national level as well as those at European level will equally focus on the need to support Ukraine but also to consider the legitimate expectations and concerns of the Romanian farmers.

Marcel Ciolacu: „Romania will continue to get involved, as it has done so far, in facilitating the exports of the Ukrainian grain to international markets. And we hope that 60% out of the total volume of Ukraine’s grain export will transit through Romania. We have also set together another ambitious target – to double in next period the volume of the Ukrainian grain transiting Romania, from two million tons at present to four million. In order to achieve that we are going to focus our efforts on developing the capabilities of the already operational corridors, such as the Sulina Canal and the port of Constanta. We have reviewed the projects we are presently working on with a view to increasing the maritime, river, rail and road traffic and streamlining the border checkpoints.”

During the talks between the two Prime Ministers, the importance of the collaboration between the two countries and their international partners has also been emphasized. Earlier, during the meeting of the ministers in charge of transport and infrastructure from Romania and Ukraine, who convened in Galati, eastern Romania, officials from the United States pledged their country’s support to the process of facilitating the aforementioned grain transit the world food security depends on.

In Bucharest, Prime Ministers Ciolacu and Shmyhal have signed another two bilateral agreements referring to the mutual recognition of education documents and the opening of a new border checkpoint between Romania and Ukraine at Sighetul Marmatiei, northern Romania. In this context, the Romanian minister recalled that Bucharest wants for the Romanian minority in Ukraine the same rights the Ukrainian minority enjoys in Romania. In turn, the Ukrainian Prime Minister thanked Romania for receiving immigrants on its territory, for solidarity in the war against Russia, for ensuring the transit of Ukrainian grain as well as for its support for Ukraine’s European integration.

Daniela Budu, Radio Romania International