The UK has signed a historic
pact with Ukraine that commits to sharing engineering expertise
and pledges a new package of support to help rebuild its war
damaged infrastructure.
Transport Secretary, , today (25 June 2022) hosted a
virtual meeting with his counterpart at the Ministry of
Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, in the same week Ukraine
marked its Independence Day and 6 months since Putin’s barbaric
and illegal invasion of their country.
After a presentation from Ukrainian officials on the true impact
of the war to their train network, roads and bridges, the two
transport leaders signed a joint action plan to help restore
these vital links. It agrees to share expert advice from
prestigious UK-based
private-sector organisations. The UK will also send 5 buses from the Go
Ahead Group to support reconnecting the Ukrainian public and buy
equipment to repair routes which are crucial for the exportation
of grain.
Experts will offer knowledge in airport, runway and port
reconstruction, and will work with the Ministry of Infrastructure
to identify training opportunities for airport staff,
air traffic controllers and aviation security.
If you are a UK transport infrastructure organisation, you can
register your interest in
joining the UK-Ukrainian transport partnership.
The Transport Secretary also outlined more detail about the £10
million Ukrainian Railways support package, previously announced
by the Prime Minister at the G7 Summit. This will buy bridge
repair and tunnel lining equipment, key hand tools and more than
120 shipping containers, which will help mobilise Ukrainian grain
trains, currently hampered by Russian activity. With Ukraine
being one of the biggest exporters of grain in the world, these
vital interventions will help its economy recover and alleviate
pressure on global food prices.
This will support the Black Sea Grain
Initiative, which allows the safe passage of grain, food and
fertiliser exports out of Ukraine in protected shipping
corridors. So far, the initiative has freed 721,449 metric tons
of goods from 3 Ukrainian ports.
Transport Secretary said:
It’s great to meet with the Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister
today and offer the UK’s
expertise and resource to help them rebuild and get its people
get moving again in the face of this brutal conflict.
In the UK we have some of the
best transport experts in the world and sharing this with Ukraine
will not only help them rebuild – but will boost the profile of
UK businesses on a global
scale.
Earlier this year, the UK assumed presidency of the
International Travel Forum (ITF) and committed to bring
global partners together in solidarity against the invasion of
Ukraine. Under the UK
presidency the ITF will launch new dedicated
research into the impact of the war on transport and will share
constructive policy advice on the sustainable reconstruction of
its infrastructure.
Ukrainian Minister for Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov said:
The fate of war is decided not only on the battlefield. Ukraine
needs a strong economy and steadily operating infrastructure.
Thanks to today’s agreements, we expect to receive high-quality
expertise from leading British companies and institutes to
restore Ukrainian infrastructure.
I am grateful to my colleague, the Transport Secretary, for Great
Britain’s comprehensive support of Ukraine’s fight against
Russian aggression.
This government is working tirelessly to help the Ukrainian
people in their fight against Russia, with the total value of
UK support now standing at
nearly £4 billion through multilateral loan guarantees and over
£100 million bilateral support.
This government has introduced the largest and most severe
package of sanctions ever imposed on Russia, or indeed any major
economy. We have sanctioned over 1000 individuals, 100
businesses, and cracked down on Russian-owned yachts and private
jets, costing oligarchs £117 billion.
