Honcharuk: Road map on cooperation with Deutsche Bahn to be signed on Feb 5
A road map of the partner agreements with the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG will be signed on February 5, 2020, Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk said following a briefing on the results of the sitting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Friday.
"Now we are holding talks with this large system company over signing of a strategic partnership agreement. This strategic agreement can bear many meanings. The signing of the road map towards what will go on this year is planned for February 5," he said.
According to the premier, the Ukrainian government is interested in investing in the railway industry, in partnership with a global company, towards which there is trust, which has cheap resources and unique experience in managing such projects.
He called Deutsche Bahn a synonym for the word "efficiency" in Europe and emphasized that the Ukrainian government wanted the Ukrainian railway also to become a model of efficiency. At the same time, the state in which Ukrzaliznytsia is now, Honcharuk called "capable for improvement".
"Deutsche Bahn can be a reliable serious partner for us. This is both about the quality of transportation and their speed, since many in the business, especially exporters, I hear it told they have problems with transporting products to the ports...We won't put up with this. If this interferes with economic growth, we will take decisive action," said Honcharuk.
Previously, the Deutsche Bahn made an official statement, according to which DB Engineering & Consulting consulting company within Deutsche Bahn, which works on projects in the areas of infrastructure, mobility and transport, will advise and support Ukrzaliznytsia in business and technical matters.
On January 22, 2020, the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine and Deutsche Bahn in Davos, Switzerland, signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic partnership in the industry and the development of Ukrzaliznytsia.