Lithuania to establish the post of transport attaché in Ukraine

Lithuania will establish the post of transport attaché in Ukraine. The transport attaché will start working at the Embassy of Lithuania in Kyiv on the 1st of October. The draft resolution on the establishment of the position in Ukraine was proposed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications approved by the Government today.

The new position will be created in order to strengthen the representation of Lithuania’s economic interests abroad. It is becoming increasingly pertinent in light of the ongoing diversification of transport services export markets, as transport and logistics sector companies are looking for new partnerships, suppliers, raw material import directions and expanding the range of their respective services.

“In the current geopolitical situation, the Lithuanian transport attaché in Ukraine would perform very important functions, the most important of which will be the creation of connections between Ukraine’s transportation hubs with the seaport and main hubs in Lithuania, and in a broader Baltic Sea region. I am convinced that it is extremely important to have our representative in Kyiv, who would coordinate the dialogue between the Lithuanian and Ukrainian institutions working on transportation issues and businesses in creating and implementing transport chains there,” said Marius Skuodis, Lithuanian Minister of Transport.

The lack of safe and efficient transport corridors leading to and from Ukraine was revealed by the country’s agricultural export crisis, when aggressor Russia started its maritime blockade in the Black Sea. According to Skuodis, it has become more important than ever before for Lithuania to develop the north-south transport corridor connecting the Baltic, Black and Aegean seas. Moreover, additional transport links with Poland and Ukraine would allow for greater possibilities for passenger, cargo and military mobility.

The Lithuanian transport attaché will also contribute to the identification of the needs for the reconstruction of Ukraine’s communication infrastructure, the dissemination of information about the opportunities and solutions of Lithuanian companies to Lithuanian businesses and Ukrainian partners and help in establishing relations between the businesses of these two countries and the institutions responsible for the restoration.

Of note, during the Lithuanian Presidency of the International Transport Forum, Lithuania, together with Sweden, Canada and Ukraine, established the CIG4U platform for cooperation and support for Ukraine’s transportation recovery. The transport attaché will serve as one of the important actors in supporting CIG4U activities in Ukraine.

The new transport attaché will also strengthen the representation of the interests of the Lithuanian transport sector in Ukraine, where LTG Cargo Ukraine, a subsidiary of Lietuvos Geležinkeliai Group’s freight company LTG Cargo, already operates, which together with the Polish freight company PKP Cargo has become a freight operator between Lithuania and Ukraine through the territory of Poland.

Currently, one transport attaché of the Ministry of Transport and Communications works in Poland and Kazakhstan respectively. Three more are serving in the Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the European Unions in Brussels.