Ukraine starts transporting grain through Croatian ports - Svyrydenko
First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko stated this during a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković at the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Bucharest, Ukrinform reports citing the Ministry of Economy.
"Ukrainian grain has already been exported through Croatian ports. We are grateful for this opportunity. This trade route, although niche, is already popular. We are ready to develop it by expanding the capabilities of the transport corridor. We believe that this logistics route will play an important role in bilateral trade between our countries even after Russia's war," Svyrydenko said.
The parties discussed bilateral trade and exports of Ukrainian grain through Croatian ports. They also addressed the importance of jointly resolving the issue of export restrictions for Ukrainian exports.
In addition, the following issues were discussed during the meeting: demining, investigation of war crimes, and the opening of new trade routes for the export of Ukrainian grain.
The parties raised the issue of accelerating the localization of demining equipment production to start its production at the facilities of domestic enterprises as soon as possible. They also discussed preparations for the demining conference to be held in Zagreb in October. This important event should help coordinate the efforts of international partners aimed at demining the country.
"One of the most important tasks for Ukraine in the near future is to demine the territories and return potentially contaminated land to use. Both post-war recovery and further development of the national economy depend on the speed of this process. That is why we are grateful to all partners who help Ukraine resolve this issue," Svyrydenko emphasized.
Andrej Plenković offered to assist Ukraine in investigating war crimes. Croatia has considerable experience in this area. The idea is to share Croatia's experience and expertise in establishing special prosecutors and special police to investigate crimes committed during the war.
As Ukrinform reported, Ukraine has not exported agricultural products through seaports since Russia withdrew from the grain deal in July 2023. The main routes for food exports remain land transport and seaports on the Danube.
In May 2023, the European Commission banned imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania at the insistence of these countries.
On June 5, the European Commission extended the ban until September 15, 2023.
