BackEstonian Minister of Infrastructure in Ukraine: restoring maritime infrastructure is essential for victory
Original publish date: 30.01.2025
Original author: Martin-Erich Torjus (Communication Advisor, Ministry of Climate of Estonia)
Estonian Minister of Infrastructure Vladimir Svet met with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksi Kuleba in Odessa to discuss the next steps to rebuild war-damaged maritime sector.
The meeting was crucial to advance the Ukrainian Recovery Plan, which seeks to establish vital links between Ukraine and key macro-regions, including the Baltic Sea Region and other European regions.
During the visit, the two ministers signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen cooperation on maritime infrastructure reconstruction. “Ukraine’s ports and maritime links, together with the country’s fleet, have been severely damaged by Russia’s aggression and their restoration is vital for the country’s economy and trade. Estonia is supporting Ukraine with both knowledge and investment,” said Minister of Infrastructure Vladimir Svet.
According to Svet, Estonia and Ukraine have developed a maritime infrastructure restoration plan, which focuses on supporting the Ukrainian Navy, developing ports and attracting investment. “This plan will help Ukraine not only to win the war, but also to start rebuilding infrastructure and national maritime capabilities now and to prepare for more extensive reconstruction work after the end of the war,” the minister said.
A critical part of the plan is the replacement of state-owned vessels with modern ones and the partial modernisation of existing ones, as well as the development of demining capabilities at sea and in inland waters. Funding for the €589 million maritime restoration plan is being led by Estonia. Estonia supports and Ukraine takes the lead in seeking for donors among countries as well as international organizations.
“Our maritime cluster has the necessary experience and expertise to rebuild and develop Ukraine’s maritime infrastructure and state fleet. In addition to the reconstruction of ports and the fleet, Estonian companies are ready to contribute to the development of maritime logistics, IT solutions and monitoring systems, as well as to the demining of the Black Sea,” added Kaupo Läänerand, Deputy Secretary of State for Maritime Affairs and Water Environment at the Ministry of Climate.
During his visit, the Minister also met with representatives of Ukrainian ports, the Ukrainian Navy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence, as well as Ukrainian state maritime agencies and companies. In addition, he attended the flag-raising ceremony of the search and rescue vessel Svet Odessa, which was built by the Estonian company Baltic Workboats AS. Rebuilding Ukraine’s maritime infrastructure is crucial for developing multimodal transportation and securing supply chains between Ukraine and Europe’s macro-regions. The visit supports PA Transport’s Action 1 which aims to improve connectivity of the regions and cooperation with third countries.
