The Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority and Qatar Ports Management Company “Mwani Qatar” was signed following the visit of the delegation of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Qatar to Ukraine. USPA says the document aims to increase cargo turnover between countries, in particular export supplies of Ukrainian agricultural products to Qatar, as well as attracting investments in the development of Ukrainian port infrastructure.
The Memorandum was signed on July 31, 2018, in Kyiv in the presence of the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan and Minister of Transport and Communications of Qatar, Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti. From the Ukrainian side, the document was signed by CEO of Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, Raivis Veckagans, from Qatar – General Director of Mwani Qatar, Abdulla Al Khanji.
On the eve of signing, General Director of Mwani Qatar met with Raivis Veckagans in Odesa, where he got acquainted with work and potential investment projects in ports «Yuzhny» and «Odesa».
"One of the priority directions that Qatar plans to develop in cooperation with Ukraine is the export of agricultural products. In this regard, at the meeting with Abdulla Al Khanji, we discussed in detail the concession projects of ports «Olviia» and «Kherson», which are in close proximity to the main agricultural regions of Ukraine ", – said CEO of USPA commenting on the signing of the Memorandum with Qatar. In addition, according to Raivis Veckagans, Qatar is also interested in taking part in the development of the Yuzhny port. This port, in accordance with the USPA strategy, thanks to dredging works, will be able to receive the largest vessels that can pass through the Bosphorus.
In turn, General Director of Mwani Qatar, Abdulla Al Khanji, confirmed that the consultants of the Qatar company are already considering two projects in «Yuzhny» port. They also became interested in the project of passenger terminal development and the hotel in Odesa port.
In the end, Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan, expressed confidence that in the near future Ukraine and Qatar will start implementation of projects in the port and aviation sector, aimed at developing transport infrastructure and expanding cooperation between two countries.