Ukraine becomes associate member of the Three Seas Initiative

At the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Bucharest on 2023 6 September, Ukraine became an associate member of the Three Seas Initiative. According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, this means that Ukraine now has access to all the tools developed within the Initiative.

“On the first day of the summit, the discussion focused mainly on Ukraine. For our partners, the war started by russia has become a reason to think about the need to change global approaches – modernising infrastructure, transport systems, food supply, attracting investment in energy and other strategic sectors to get rid of russian oil and gas altogether. Our partners urged us to join in the restructuring of the region’s architecture, which is the need of the hour because of russian aggression,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

The development of logistics and trade in the region is also a key issue for both Ukraine and the countries that are members or associate members of the Three Seas Initiative. According to the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, the countries participating in this initiative are developing transport capacities to facilitate exports from Ukraine. As a result, despite the war and regular shelling, trade on the Danube and trade routes to ports in Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Greece are developing rapidly.

“With the victory and the restoration of full freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, we will see a new reality of trade in the Three Seas Initiative region – free and efficient, thanks to the developed infrastructure,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy also pointed out the need to address the problems in trade relations between the countries. First of all, it is necessary to remove trade barriers and resume exports of Ukrainian grain and other crops. This topic was part of the speech of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the meetings of the First Deputy Prime Minister on the sidelines of the Summit.