On the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a multilateral meeting with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of Romania Klaus Iohannis and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria Mariya Gabriel.
The talks in this format were primarily focused on preserving the single market principle and free access of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU market.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the President of the European Commission for her unwavering leadership and firm stance on lifting all restrictions on access for Ukrainian agricultural products after September 15 at the EU level.
"We have established an effective mechanism for maintaining an ongoing dialogue - the Joint Coordination Platform for Export and Transit of Ukrainian Agricultural Products. This platform should continue to work and help resolve all problematic issues in the field of agricultural products," the President of Ukraine emphasized.
The Head of State informed about the further algorithm of actions of the Ukrainian government and coordination of joint steps.
"Ukraine is a future member of the European Union. Therefore, we must work together already today to continuously liberalize trade within the EU single market, prevent any unilateral restrictions in the future and protect the competitive advantages of each EU member in conditions of free trade," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Together with the President of Romania and the Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria, the parties exchanged views on finding effective solutions in the field of logistics, in particular, increasing the capacity of ports, including the Black Sea port of Constanța, and river transport on the Danube River, as well as the importance of further increasing transit of Ukrainian products through Romania and Bulgaria, taking into account the potential of the EU's Solidarity Lanes.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen praised Bulgaria's efforts, especially the decision taken by the Bulgarian government and the crucial role played by the leaders of parliamentary factions in the Bulgarian National Assembly.
The Head of State thanked the President and the government of Romania for their contribution to bolstering the unity of the EU, adherence to the principles of the single market and free competition.
"It is through Romania that over 60% of transit of Ukrainian grain that passes through the EU's Solidarity Lanes is ensured. Our joint efforts will help reduce the burden on the infrastructure of the Ukrainian ports of Izmail and Reni, as well as speed up cargo transshipment. The Ukrainian part of the Danube River should also be included in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T)," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
The participants of the meeting discussed alternative transportation routes through Romania and Bulgaria, which would significantly increase transit volumes and reduce the burden on the domestic markets of these countries.
