Lithuania and the Ukraine have been holding discussions on ways to bolster cooperation in the transport sector.

Lithuanian Minister of Transport Eligijus Masiulis and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure Boris Kolesnikov met to talk mainly about the development and growing competitiveness of the nation’s railway project Viking, reports Baltic Course.

It said that the joint Lithuanian, Belorussian and Ukrainian railway project is designed to offer a reliable transport route for cargo transported by multimodal trains operating through Lithuania (Klaipeda Seaport), Belarus, and Ukraine (Ilyichevsk Seaport).

The report said that the meeting focussed on such issues as the regular routes of the Viking train, the opening of new shipping lines between the Ukraine and Turkey, and also possible links with Bulgaria and Georgia necessary for the expansion of the Viking train route.

It said that Azerbaijan and Syria have also expressed a willingness to join this project. Turkey and countries within North Europe are also reported to be interested in tapping opportunities provided by the Viking rail freight project.

“Still there remain important issues, such as provision of favourable freight transportation conditions and readiness for more rapid inspection and handling of freight on state borders, as well as the coordination of tariffs. The methods of improvement of Customs procedures have been demonstrated to the Ukrainian delegation at Lithuanian State Border Crossing Point,” Minister Masiulis was quoted as saying.

The report noted that the volume of freight transported by the Viking train has been increasing every year since it was launched between ports on the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea in 2003. Last year 56,000 TEU was transported by the train, an increase of 34 per cent compared with 2010, after Georgia and Moldova joined the project last year.

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