President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu, who is on an official visit to Ukraine, signed a joint statement on the importance of developing Ukrainian-Moldovan bilateral relations.
The document declares the establishment of the Presidential Council of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. The states are planning to restore a full-fledged dialogue at the highest level and attach a dynamic nature to it, create preconditions for the transition from the pragmatic to the strategic nature of cooperation in the interests of the two states and nations.
The statement reaffirms mutual support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and Moldova within internationally recognized borders and notes the willingness of the parties to work together to strengthen regional security, implement relevant association agreements with the EU and pursue strategic goals aimed at full-fledged EU membership.
The heads of state also signed a Memorandum on the development of transport and transit potential of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. The purpose of signing the document is to strengthen cooperation between Ukraine and Moldova in the field of infrastructure development and job creation, and effectively use the transit potential of both countries.
To achieve the goals set, the creation of a road transport corridor connecting Kyiv and Chișinău is envisaged. In the long run, this corridor will reduce the distance between the two cities to five or six hours, becoming the shortest route from the Central region of Ukraine to the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe.
In the framework of the Memorandum, the parties also declare the intention to take a number of concrete steps. In particular, it is the international legal registration of the construction of the Yampil - Cosăuți bridge, coordination of efforts to prepare an investment project and develop a feasibility study for the development of border infrastructure and access roads on the Ukrainian-Moldovan state border, as well as involvement of international financial organizations in the project implementation.
